Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Tuesday, 22 July 2025

The Feast of St Mary Magdalene


Today is the feast day of St Mary Magdalene and the New Liturgical Movement has a very interesting article about the history of her liturgical commemoration in the traditional and historic rites of the Church. This can be accessed at “Apostle of the Apostles” - Liturgical Notes on the Feast of St Mary Magdalene

In the medieval centuries Mary Magdalene, with her great cult centre at Vézelay in France, was a popular choice for the patron of parish churches and hospitals across western Christendom. Wikipedia has an account of the great Burgundian shrine at Vézelay

In those medieval centuries the saint did, of course, frequently appear in paintings and sculptures. This of course continued in later centuries, but her role as a patroness appears to have declined.

St Mary Magdalene pray for us

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