I wonder if Tracer Bullet, Private Eye, has any contacts in London.
There’s a mystery to be solved.
Fr. Hunwicke reported at his fine blog Mutual Enrichment, about the Case of the Missing Maniple. In this case, the case concerns, includes, and encloses the mortal remains of St. John Southworth. In the side aisle on the Gospel side of Westminster Cathedral, you find a glass case in which the body of the saint awaits the resurrection.
He was once vested, as a priest, with his maniple. Here are a couple photos I shot in 2010.
Fr. H writes:
[…]
Medieval hagiographers would have undoubtedly had an account of how this happened; their stories would probably have ended with a spectacular miracle resulting in the supernatural restoration of the maniple. Inventive readers of this blog must surely be capable of some diverting inventions within the general conventions and dynamics of that genre. But what is to be done?
Traddies with large families might consider taking all their children into the Cathedral, equipped with red crayons or board-writers or loads of red paint, and settling them down with instructions to add maniples to all the cards. This would result in what Anglican Priestesses proudly call “Messy Church”, and thus constitute an Ecumenical Gesture.
[…]
There is, over there, more to amuse and horrify. “O! the maniple!”
Meanwhile, I wonder… perhaps he traded it for a brand new Clement XIV mug. Hmmmm.
Meanwhile, it has been sometime since I posted this:
Indeed! “Tie one on St. John Southworth!”
WHERE’S THE MANIPLE?
UPDATE 22 March:
A priest sent me a photo from 2015.
As you can see, the maniple is still in its proper place.
