The Conversion of England

Blessed Dominic Barberi

Amongst the various prophecies concerning the Second Pentecost, we find some recurring themes. One such recurring motif centres the spiritual revival around the conversion of England - particularly Maximin's 1846 version of the secrets of La Salette:


On September 19, 1846, we saw a beautiful Lady. We never said that this lady was the Blessed Virgin but we always said that it was a beautiful Lady. I do not know if it is the Blessed Virgin or another person. As for me, I believe today that it is the Blessed Virgin. Here is what this Lady said to me:

“If my people continue, what I will say to you will arrive earlier, if it changes a little, it will be a little later. France has corrupted the universe, one day it will be punished. The faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost no more, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert, the faith will be rekindled everywhere. A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted...


The above prophecy foretells that the Great Apostasy will be reversed through the conversion of England, which then spreads out into the rest of the world.
At the moment, the conversion of the United Kingdom to Catholicism seems almost an impossibility. But we can already find that the way is being prepared to allow mass conversions of dissaffected Anglicans to full union with Rome through Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. There are major divisions within Anglicanism at the moment, due to capitulation to modern secular values such as the ordination of female and openly homosexual priests and bishops. Many Anglicans are attracted to the stability offered by Catholicism and Anglican ordinarites such as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham have already been established, bringing with them hunderds, and potentially thousands of converts. Other Anglican ordinariates are in the process of being established throughout the US and Canada, and these structures may even provide an antidote for other schisms such as those of the Aglipayan Church in the Philippines. This phenomenon has even transcended denominations, and some Anglo-Lutherns in America have requested permission to join with the personal ordinariates being established there (see here). Given the global nature of the Anglican communion, it is not difficult to imagine how the conversion of England could spark a worldwide religious renewal.


The Pope himself almost certainly feels that the conversion of England is pre-ordained. He declared that the apostolic constitution was "prophetic" in character, and signed it on Oct 20th - the feast day of St Paul of the Cross, who famously devoted himself to 50 years of prayer for the conversion of England.
Other prophecies foretelling the future conversion of England can be found in those of Ven. Bartholomew Holzhauser in his work Interpretatio Apocalypsis: “After desolation has reached its peak in England, peace will be restored and England will return to the Catholic faith with greater fervour than ever before.” St John Vianney also famously stated: "I believe that the Church in England will recover her ancient splendour" (Trochu, F. The Cure of Ars). We have previously noted Cardinal Newman's "Second Spring" sermon, which also envisaged the future conversion of the England. And St. Malachy foretold that Ireland would play an important role in this process: "Ireland... will be instrumental in bringing back the English to the unity of the faith." (See the Catholic Encylcopeadia).
England is traditionally known as the "Dowry of Mary" - in a tradition which dates back to Our Lady of Walsingham and St Edward the Confessor. It appears that this "dowry" is a token gift bestowed by the Mother of God to celebrate the coming marriage of the Lamb with his eschatological bride - the Heavenly Jerusalem which is the Church (see Rev 21).  It is through the conversion of this nation that the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary promised in the Secrets of Fatima will be effected - and after this, Russia, along with the rest of Eastern Orthodoxy will be reconciled to Rome, and religion will once again flourish before the Second Coming of Our Lord.