page_title: Downside Abbey
section_title: Consecration
hierarchical_section_title: Downside Abbey / Abbey church / Consecration
caption_attribution_description: English: From Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. Saturday 14 September 1935 At the west door of the Abbey. The procession of relics entering the sacred edifice.
context_page_description: The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Its main apostolate is the Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen.
  Both the abbey and the school are located at Stratton-on-the-Fosse between Westfield and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, South West England. In 2017, the abbey was home to fourteen monks. From 26 August 2020, Dom Nicholas Wetz, originally from Belmont Abbey, serves as its Abbot, having previously served for nearly two years as Prior Administrator.
  Downside Abbey has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described the Abbey as "the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England".
context_section_description: The abbey church was consecrated in 1935. At the same time it was raised to the rank of a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI. The consecration was reported in the Wells Journal for 13 September 1935.
  To-day, with the full solemnity of Catholic ritual, Downside Abbey, which was commenced more than a half-a-century ago, was consecrated by the Cardinal Prince-Primate of Hungary, Monsignor Seredi, who is one of the Benedictine Members of the Sacred College. The ceremony was attended by Cardinal MacRory from Ireland, seven Archbishops, twelve Bishops and fifteen Abbots. Over 500 priests accepted invitations to attend and among the lay guests were the Lord Mayor of London and leading members of the Roman Catholic community throughout Great Britain. In honour of the occasion the Abbey Church has been raised by the Pope to the dignity of the Minor Basilica – the first in England – and this confers upon the Abbot the right to wear the Cappa Magna, a long black cloack. Cardinal Seredi, who directly represented the Pope, consecrated the High Altar and performed the greater part of the consecration of the church, the building of which has cost over £200,000.
caption: At the west door of the Abbey. The procession of relics entering the sacred edifice.
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