EVERYONE must rejoice that the Bishop of London [Arthur Foley
Winnington-Ingram] has returned from the front safe and sound,
having carried out his mission in the face of danger and
difficulty. He passed, we are told, along the entire British front,
often within the range of the enemy's guns, and through places
devastated by shell-fire. Yet, amid the horrors of war, he
administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to men who came straight
up from the trenches for the laying-on of his hands, celebrated the
Holy Mysteries in ruinous barns, preached to thousands of soldiers
in the field, and comforted the sick and convalescent in their
shelters. To all the men he addressed he carried the love of their
parents, their children, their wives and their sweethearts. From
the Field-Marshal Commander-in-Chief to the humblest soldier with
the Colours there was a warm welcome to the Bishop. Perhaps what
touched them more than anything was his blessing of the graves of
those who have fallen on the battlefield. The Bishop of London, in
his largeness of heart, forgets nothing. He knew how the relatives
of the slain would like to feel that their dear ones are lying in
ground hallowed with Apostolic blessing. By this simple and
gracious act he has endeared himself, we may be sure, even to many
of those who have never seen him or heard his voice. . .
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