13 June 2016

On a "Forgotten" Church Becoming a Thriving Shrine

"Pugin's church of St Augustine in Ramsgate became a shrine in 2012. It is now the official place to honour the coming of Christianity from Rome to the Anglo-Saxon people with the mission of St Augustine.

"In a stunning location overlooking the sea, the shrine is near to where St Augustine first landed in AD 597. Augustus Pugin moved to this place and built his own 'ideal' church (and was buried there) precisely because 'blessed Austen had landed nearby'. He called it 'the cradle of Catholicism in England'.

"Pugin desired a rebirth of Catholic culture in the place where it had been first conceived. When Archbishop Peter Smith inaugurated the new shrine he was filling a gap of 474 years since the last great shrine of St Augustine had been destroyed in Canterbury. This significant act has inspired thousands of pilgrims to visit ever since."

In a recent commentary, Father Marcus Holden, rector of the Shrine of Saint Augustine, Ramsgate, England, United Kingdom, reflected in what goes into the development of a shrine in general and, in particular, into the development of the Shrine of St. Augustine.

To access Fr. Holden's complete essay, please visit:

Catholic Herald: How a forgotten church with a leaky roof became one of Britain's most thriving shrines (26 MAY 16)

Background information:

Shrine of Saint Augustine

Facebook: Pugin's Church and Shrine of St Augustine, Ramsgate

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