Augustinians give thanks for revival of province

BY IRENE LALLY
AUGUSTINIAN friars in England and Scotland will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the restoration of their Province next month with a service of thanksgiving at the Dutch church in Austin Friars, London.
The Augustinians, or Austin Friars, occupied the site in the heart of the City from 1253 until the Reformation.
Fr Paul Graham OSA, Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Order in Britain, said the service on September 8 would be an historic occasion: "It will be the first time friars have prayed at this historic site since the London community was dissolved in 1538. Austin Friars, London, was the largest and most important Augustinian house in the country," he said.
After the Reformation, the priory church was granted to the Dutch Protestant community by Edward VI in 1550. "It has remained theirs ever since, except for a short time during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary," he said.
The present pastor, the Rev Gerard van Es, has given permission for the service. Friars and parishioners from St Monica's church in Hoxton Square, an Augustinian foundation, will process to the church for the service.
Austin Friars church, painted and engraved by many artists including the young Vincent van Gogh, was known as the "Westminster Abbey of the City" because of the splendour of its monuments.
Wider than the cathedrals of Exeter and Winchester and only 8ft shorter than Canterbury, it was one of the biggest churches in medieval London, with a famous steeple.
The church survived the Reformation and the Great Fire of London in 1666 and remained intact until October 1940 when it was totally destroyed in a German air raid. Princess Irene of the Netherlands laid the foundation stone of the rebuilt church in 1950.