THE MOMENT MUGGERIDGE 'CAME HOME'

by Christopher Howse MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE and his wife, Kitty, embraced the Catholic religion on Saturday at a private Mass celebrated by Bishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Arundel and Brighton, in a small church in rural Sussex.
On the same morning, Muggeridge published a version of his motives for becoming a Catholic in the centre pages of The Times. There he said: "My wife of 54 years has been at my side all the way. Nor have we needed even to discuss the matter at issue, but proceeded as one person."
At Saturday 'c reception Mass. Mr and Mrs Muggeridge were sponsored by Lord and Lady Longford, whose home is near the church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Hurst Green, where the Mass took place.
The couple had been prepared for their reception by Fr Paul Bidone. Muggeridge is one of the patrons of his home for disabled children, run by the Sons of Divine Providence, at Teddington. Children from the home were invited to join the congregation at Mass.
Also there were Muggeridge's son Leonard and daughter Valerie, and Mr and Mrs Andrew Boyle. With them was Dr Alec Vidler, who has remained a friend of the couple since he influenced Muggeridge towards Christianity during his time at Cambridge in the 1920s.
They heard Muggeridge read the Epistle and later saw him and his wife receiving Communion together for the first time. Of this he wrote in The Times: "Mother Teresa told me in Calcutta how the Eucharist each