Westminster Abbey was stolen! As is the case with all ancient English churches, monasteries, or convents presently in the hands of the Anglicans, the famed Abbey where English monarchs are crowned and buried, was once the property of a Catholic institution. Westminister Abbey was a Benedictine monastery. While the Catholic origin of the Abbey may be well-known, especially in England, many people are unaware of who the Abbey’s heavenly patron.
The Abbey dates back at least to the eighth century, but possibly before. During the time of King Saint Edward the Confessor (1003-1066), it had already been in existence as a Benedictine Monastery for about two hundred years. During an exile in Normandy, King Edward made a vow that he would go on pilgrimage to Rome, to the tomb of St. Peter. Being unable to keep this vow, for reasons of state, he requested that the pope absolve him of it. Pope Leo IX commuted the vow, but under certain conditions, one of them being that Edward build or restore, in England, an abbey in honor of St. Peter. This he did by rebuilding the Abbey at Westminster. The relics of the Sainted King are still enshrined at the Abbey, where they are in the company of the earthly remains of many other English Monarchs, some Catholic, but mostly Protestant. Regarding these latter, we make an observation. The day of the General Judgment will present the awesome spectacle of a royal reprobate honor-guard lining up to escort the Papist King-Saint as he rises to assume his everlasting throne in glory. O day of wrath!
Westminster Abbey with a procession of Knights of the Bath, by Canaletto, 1749 (source)
