Archbishop John Sherrington, the new Archbishop of Liverpool, gave a homily today, 27 May, during his Mass of Installation in which he offered prayers for all those injured in yesterday’s parade when a car crashed into people celebrating Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory.
Archbishop Sherrington said: “We pray for all those who have been injured and those working to save lives in hospitals.”
Archbishop Sherrington went on to tell the faithful of Liverpool archdiocese that “I place myself at your service as bishop and shepherd”.
Dear friends in Christ, brothers and sisters,
Together with the Church and civic society here in this great Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, I place myself at your service as bishop and shepherd. I invite you – priests, deacons, religious and God’s holy people – to continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
The shadow of the tragic and appalling events of last night hang over the city this morning. The joy of the day has turned to deep sadness and many families are affected by the trauma of the events. We pray for all those who have been injured and those working to save life in hospitals. We are grateful for the work of the emergency services. While we see dreadful images, I know that the people of Liverpool will unite together and be close to those who are suffering. This is part of who we are. Let us pray and work to build peace together. This is a gift which comes at the end from Christ who said, ‘Peace be with you.’
At the same time, we gather today in the hope that the light of Christ will shine into the darkness of people’s lives, just as it pours its many colours into this great Cathedral which is often described as the ‘soul of the city’. This light in all its colours dispels the darkness that clouds people’s lives, takes away hope, and diminishes them.
During this Jubilee Year we walk as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ because Jesus Christ has saved us, loves us and walks close by our side. He invites us to reach out to those who are distant from the Church, those who do not know Christ, and those in need of mercy as the poorest and weakest members of our society. St. Paul in the first reading teaches us to be gentle to those we meet and accompany them with the ‘patience of a nursing mother taking care of her own children’ (1 Thess 2:9).
An urgent challenge is to find new ways to help our young people grow in faith and service and so discover the unique call God has planted in their hearts. This is part of the mission of the Catholic School which educates about 88,000 young people in this diocese. My first visit to Lourdes many years ago, as a helper on the Jumbulance, helped me discover God’s call to be a priest. I will return in July with the Liverpool Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes this year to thank Our Blessed Lady once again. To our young people I say, God has created each one of you to do Him some definite service. Know that ‘Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! He is in you, he is with you and he never abandons you.’ (Pope Francis, Christus Vivit 1-2).
St Augustine was sent from his monastery in Rome by Pope Gregory to commence a new evangelisation of England, beginning in Kent. The Gospel of Christ had already arrived in Roman times. I think of the martyr St Alban and the Gospel preached by the monks from Ireland and Iona. St Patrick converted St Maughold (pronounced Makeld). As a penance for his sins, St Patrick pushed him out to sea in a coracle with neither sail nor oars, saying ‘wherever you land will be your place of mission’. He made landfall on the Isle of Man just down the coast from Ramsey. These roots inspire our common mission today, just as they did in St. Augustine’s day. His prayer and life in heaven has inspired and led saints, missionaries and martyrs, and the whole Church to ever renew her mission. Today this includes building bridges of peace between people and developing the strong ecumenical relationships which are part of the history of this Archdiocese. I welcome our ecumenical guests and look forward to working with you.
The motto I chose as a bishop ‘My grace is sufficient for you’, is taken from St Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. It reminds me to depend utterly on the grace of God and trust in the promises of the Risen Christ who is with us until the end of time. I invite you to raise up your heads and look ahead to sharing in the hope which is in our hearts. We proclaim, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Lk 10:9). Together we will continue the mission of the seventy-two disciples who were sent by Jesus to bring the message of his kingdom of peace, which is built on justice and truth, to all they met.
Archbishop Malcolm has laid the foundations of renewal in the Diocesan Synod. I thank Archbishop Malcolm McMahon for his service as your Shepherd and Bishop. You have taken him into your hearts, and he has taken you to himself. He will stay in his Liverpool home. Archbishop Malcolm, I look forward to you as an Archbishop Emeritus with us, joining Archbishop Emeritus Patrick whom I welcome here today. The foundations that have been laid need further reflection and ongoing discernment as we walk together on the road of hope.
We need to search for the green shoots brought forth by Christ’s resurrection, nurture them and help people to fall in love with Jesus Christ and pray. He will awaken their minds and hearts. He will change the way they live, how they spend their time and where they find amazement and joy.
From the foundations of prayer, we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. It is when we gather around the altar and celebrate the Eucharist that we are most fully the Church. It is where we gather in sorrow and joy. We hear the word of God, receive Christ’s gifts of his Body and Blood, build our communion and are sent out as Christ’s body into the world. We bring his love and mercy to all we meet and especially touch his wounds in our suffering sisters and brothers. Just as the Good Samaritan had to bend low to hear the voice of the injured traveller on the road to Jericho, so must we. I look forward to hearing of the work of social outreach continued by Nugent and many other groups.
We will together continue to create safe places where people can worship and love with freedom and hope. I welcome hearing from the voices of survivors and victims of abuse as we strive for justice and healing.
In this Jubilee Year, we celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. This led to the truth which we pray every Sunday in the Creed: ‘the Lord Jesus Christ… begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father’. Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. We are created in his image and called to his likeness. The dignity of every person is deepened in the reality of the incarnation.
Pope Leo the Great (d. 461 AD) summed this up in a Christmas Homily, ‘Christian, remember your dignity… Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of Christ’. (Office of Readings, Christmas Day). Pope Leo XIII remembered this dignity and wrote about the dignity of human work and the conditions needed for people to flourish. Pope Leo XIV continues this thread and calls for the dignity of every woman and man to be respected in our society, especially in the ever-changing world of work with the impact of Artificial Intelligence, and the challenge that many people fail to find work. The dignity of the human person and the common good as well as the care of God’s creation are at the centre of all we do together. We are called to listen again to ‘the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 49).
Let us all be joyful in the Lord!
Archbishop John Sherrington
