Dear Friends,
This year our Easter celebrations were blessed by the presence not only of a house full of guests, but also
by the presence of our Abbot Visitor, Dom Anselm Atkinson, who spent some weeks with us before returning to
his monastery in the United States.
In the Easter Octave we were delighted to welcome the Princess Napoleon for a brief visit. With her came
Lord and Lady Egremont from Petworth and Professor John Rogister from Durham. After a tour of the Empress’s
former home at Farnborough Hill, the Princess arrived at the Abbey for the Office of Sext. She was,
therefore, able to meet some members of the Community for the first time and to renew her acquaintance with
others before visiting the family tombs in the crypt.
On Easter Monday I attended, at St Cecilia’s Abbey Ryde, the first of a number of celebrations which will
grace this year. 2003 sees the fiftieth anniversary of abbatial blessing, the seventy-fifth anniversary of
profession, and the one hundreth birthday of the retired Abbess Bernadette. It was Dom du Boisrouvray who
represented Farnborough at her abbatial blessing all those years ago.
On Easter Tuesday, Brother Ryan, our new postulant arrived.
The 9th Farnborough Scout Group were helped toward their ‘Local Knowledge Badge’ by visiting us and
listening to Dom Alcuin’s account of our history.
With all our good wishes and blessings
Sincerely in the Lord,
rchived 
ews
