PRESS RELEASE - 21 November 2007

CATHOLIC NATIONAL LIBRARY:

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM BENEDICT XVI AT THE TIME OF THE LAUNCH OF A £1.5 MILLION FOUNDATION APPEAL

In a message to the Trustees of the Catholic National Library (formerly the Catholic Central Library) Pope Benedict XVI said that he was pleased to be informed that a new home has been found for the Library at St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough.

He extended cordial greetings to all the Trustees and gave thanks to God for the recent developments which have made it possible to preserve this valuable collection of books and periodicals and make it available once more to readers throughout our country. The desire to encounter the truth and to grow in knowledge and understanding of it is deeply ingrained in the human soul by the Creator himself… He commended the trustees and all associated with the Library to the intercession of the Mother of God… and cordially imparted his Apostolic Blessing.

At a meeting with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Rt Hon John Gummer MP, Chairman of the Trustees, said that it was important that, now that this historic collection of 70,000 books and periodicals, had a permanent home, it should be even more widely known throughout the United Kingdom as an historic and valuable national resource. The provision of books in audio form for the visually impaired was also provided through the good offices of the nuns of the Holy Community Monastery at East Hendred.

A number of important trusts and individuals, including the late Sir John Paul Getty, had provided funds for the capital costs of refurbishing the premises at Farnborough, so generously provide by the Abbot of St Michael's Abbey, and the trustees of the Empress Eugenie Memorial Trust.

But the Foundation Appeal for £1.5 million was needed, as it approached the centenary of its foundation in 2012, to ensure that it was fully equipped to carry on its work in a manner suitable for the 21st century. He emphasized the need for a significant sum which when invested would enable the income to cover running costs. These could not be met solely by ordinary membership fees, which needed to be set at a level, which ordinary members of the public could afford. Moreover, the Library needed to be more widely accessible to scholars and the public through the latest digital technology and be linked to other libraries all over the world. It already had members through the United Kingdom and these were served by a much-valued postal service. But visitors were also very welcome to Farnborough . It was also possible to stay at the Abbey, by making arrangement with the Guest master.

The Cardinal said that he would write to his fellow bishops in the diocese of England and Wales, to bring them up to date with the new developments and seek their support for the work of the Library and its Appeal.

Following a Mass at St Etheldreda's Church, London, at which the Abbot of St Michael's Abbey, was the Celebrant, Mr Gummer hosted a Reception at which he outlined the Trustees' exciting future plans.

21 November 2007

Notes:

  1. One of the present Pope's predecessors, Pope Benedict XV, sent an important message of support for the Library in 1920.
  2. The Trustees are: Rt Hon John Gummer MP (Chairman); Professor Keith Hanley, Rev Dr Ian Ker, Mr Alex Myers (Treasurer), Mr Piers Paul Read, Mr Antony Tyler OBE (Secretary), and Lord Nicholas Windsor.
  3. The Empress Eugenie of France commissioned this magnificent Grade I listed Abbey as a Memorial to her husband, Emperor Napoleon III, and their son, the Prince Imperial, killed with the British forces in the Zulu War. All three are buried in the crypt.
  4. An American, William Reed Lewis, founded the Library in the porch of a Rosminian Church at Bexhill-on-Sea. Lewis was also a driving force behind the creation of municipal secular libraries in the United Kingdom. He was subsequently US Consul in Morocco. He retired to Brittany in the late 1930s; he and his wife were interned as enemy aliens when the Germans occupied France and Lewis died in a German internment camp in 1941. The Lewis family in the U.S. and Britain are still in touch with the Library. One of Lewis' daughters became a Poor Clare nun.
  5. 35 minutes by train from Mainline Waterloo Station; and an easy walk from either Farnborough Main or North stations. There is ample parking at the Abbey.

Further contacts for editors:

  1. For further information about Mr Gummer's ten years involvement with the Library contact his Private Office on 020 7960 7900.
  2. For detailed information about the Library and to make a visit contact Mrs Joan Bond, the Librarian, on 01252 543818.
  3. For further information about the services for the visually impaired contact the Prioress of the Holy Trinity Monastery on 01235 933960.
  4. For information about the Appeal contact Antony Tyler on 01732 761830.
  5. For St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough, contact the Abbot on 01252 546105:
  6. The Library's website is http://www.catholic-library.org.uk

Link to Foundation Appeal