Unwanted Pontifical Rings of the Prinknash Abbot. By Uncle Monty.

Unwanted Pontifical Rings
of the Prinknash Abbot.
By Uncle Monty.
+
Pilgrims to the 1906, Anglican-founded, Prinknash
Abbey, which is now under the Episcopal jurisdiction
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton, will no more
find robed Benedictine monks to warmly greet

and welcome them there.

+
In June, the few remaining monks left the abbey
and the 65 year-old abbot, Father Francis Baird, OSB,
then decided to auction off the unwanted pontifical

rings and religious paintings to help raise funds to-

wards the operation and preservation of the nearby

English monastery at the medieval St. Peter’s Grange.
+
Among the rare items at the Simon Chorley auction, set
for September 18th, 2oo8, at the old abbey grounds, is an
18-caret gold pontifical glove ring (shown above) bearing
the cameo portrait of Pope Pius VII (1740-1823) that
was the Abbot’s once often-kissed ring by visiting
pilgrims and clergy to his abbey.
+
Gold Episcopal Ring

Two amethyst and diamond gold Episcopal
rings (with one illustrated above) are also set

to be auctioned off along with an Art-Deco,

1934, hammered-texture chalice by

Hart of Campden.
+
Abbot Baird hopes to raise about £3.000 or $6.000,

but I suspect the gold pontifical glove ring alone to

fetch almost that let alone another auction set for by
the Prinknash monks for November in which such a

19th century replica painting of Fr. Angelico’s Three

Angels -will be offered to the highest bidder.

Frank Salisbury’s 1940s oil painting Divine
Manifestation: The Shrine of Humanity

will also be sold by bid at the same Nov.

auction which is expected to attract

many of the Church's hierarchy.
+
The Monks

England has now become such a non-religious Christian
nation that places like Prinknash Abbey must close due
to fewer and fewer modern folks wanting to commit
themselves to religious orders. Plus, the astronomical
cost of keeping such an abbey going is so prohibitive
among other problems like the coming end and finale
of “The Church Age.” Such is being seen with the
over-reaching rise of the global Digital Age and the
all-consuming secularisation and criminalization of
every aspect of our daily lives. Along with the non-
teaching of Christian values at home and school in
the present and broken and sick society that is sadly

England today. The rise and spread of radical Islam,

New Age beliefs, hideous witchcraft, creeping

Freemasonry, and open marchers of non-belief, in

post modern Britain will put pay to Christianity sooner

or later unless there is a national spiritual revival against

such detrimental forces now at work. Most folks these-

days don’t give a bugger, anyway, while the country

keeps going down the drain, morally, spiritually,

economically, politically, and nationalistically.
+
The Abbey.

+
I may just pop-up at the auction, if I can get a
ride there. So that I may also visit the abbey at
the same time and meet perhaps the abbot, too,
and take some photo-images that I will find there.
Hopefully, the auction will get off to a rousing
start and raise some big bucks for the monks
and the medieval grange. At least, I hope so ...

http://www.prinknashabbey.org/
+
Faithfully, Uncle Monty.
+Eve of 16th Sunday after Trinity, 2oo8.
+