A reader sends us the following:
As has been stated in Rorate, Rafael Merry del Val was educated at Ushaw College in the north of England. He commenced his studies at Ushaw College in 1883 before he went to Rome in 1885. In 1955, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, in whose diocese Ushaw College is situated, wrote to the people of the diocese and asked them to support a novena to further the cause of His Eminence. I have attached scans of the bishop’s suggested novena prayers and a brief summary of Cardinal del Val’s life. Some of Rorate's readers may wish to recite these novena prayers to help the cause of this great servant of the Church.
Ushaw College was the major seminary for the north of England and was formed in 1808 by students who had fled some years earlier from Douai College in northern France during the French Revolution. It expanded over the decades and by 1962, at the opening of the Second Vatican Council it housed 400 students, although some were secular students. It was ordaining about 22 priests per year. Following the introduction of the changes in the 1960s the numbers dropped quite dramatically and by 2010 there were less than 30 students. It was closed by the English hierarchy in June 2010.
