by Catherine Pepinster, The Tablet
Westminster Cathedral was the setting on Tuesday for one of the most significant moments in recent Catholic history in Britain, the Requiem Mass of the Duchess of Kent, attended by the King and the Royal Family.
It was the first time that a monarch, who is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, has attended a Catholic Mass in this country in modern times.
The Requiem for the Duchess, who died aged 92, and who converted to Catholicism in 1994, was celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and included a message from Pope Leo XIV, read by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia and sent to the King. The Pope, offering his condolences to the King and his family, especially the Duke of Kent and the couple’s children, wrote that he wanted to associate himself “with all those offering thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Duchess’s legacy of Christian goodness, seen in her many years of dedication to official duties, patronage of charities, and devoted care for vulnerable people in society.” He went on to offer his apostolic blessing “as a pledge of consolation”.
The Mass included music from the Requiem Mass by Duruflé, while the first and second readings were read by the Duchess’s children, the Earl of St Andrews and Lady Helen Taylor. Her other son, Lord Nicholas Windsor, who is also a convert, attended too.