Farewell at the altar

No trip to Rome would be complete without a formal Eucharist of thanksgiving. We all attended at All Saint’s Anglican Church, not far from the Spanish Steps on the final day of our conference. Following a meeting in the crypt (below)

we assembled for our final service together (below).

The choir of St Chad’s Durham provided the choral accompaniment, and the celebrant was the Vicar General of the Society, the Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark Cathedral in London, seen below censing the altar of All Saint’s Church.

It was such a joy to be able to share in our Anglican patrimony in Rome with delegates from England, Wales, Ireland, Australia and the United States of America.

Of the 88 participants at the conference, 13 were from Australia, seen below with the guest speaker Dr Paula Gooder and David Richardson.

Representing the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne were the vicars of Burnley, Burwood East, Mount Eliza and the inimitable vicar of Surrey Hills/Mont Albert who someone suggested would go to the opening of an envelope if there was free food.

Following a lunch of pizza, almost entirely eaten by the choir, we said our farewells and I proceeded to schlep up the street dragging my suitcases (which must have been breeding in the warm Roman weather) until a kindly taxi driver stopped to help a poor priest, and took him to the airport.