St Patrick’s church in London’s Soho Square is a London landmark. It’s one of the oldest Catholic churches in London, it attracts a large and mostly youthful congregation, there is regular Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which makes it a centre of prayer. It is also the home of a wide range of activities – it’s the home of London’s Chinese Catholic community, and Brazilian community, and to the Cenacolo venture (helping those addicted to drugs or alcohol), and more.

And here, a group of young people are preparing for the big adventure of World Youth Day. They’ll be flying from London to Sydney – and you can meet them at the Vocations Expo at WYD.

They are the team from SPES. St Patrick’s is a centre for evangelization.  The house always seems to be teeming with activity – young activity. The basement is a warren of different rooms, all connected with rather muddled, low-ceilinged passages. There has been a house on this site for about two hundred years, and down here you get hints of many layers of history. Workmen are busy on various restoration projects, while in another room there’s a buzz of talk, in another the busy sound of computers and office activity, and in a third…well, here there is silence as it is set aside as a small oratory, and people are gathered for prayer.

This is the setting in which the SPES team operates.  SPES is the Latin word for “hope” and the initials spell out St Patrick’s Evangelisation Team.  A group of young adults, from different countries, who give a year to study, pray, and work together to communicate the Gospel to London.

Talks and lectures happen round a wide table in an adjoining room, and in the oratory, there is reverence, silence, icons, a crucifix, and a strong sense the companionship of God, echoing that of his Sacramental Presence in the big church above.

Meeting members of the SPES team, the visitor is struck by a sense of friendship among them, by infectious enthusiasm for the project, and by a quiet purposefulness which pervades the group: this isn’t a talking-shop or a place for dreamers, but a group of people committed to evangelization and to a life lived with Christ.

I asked Antony Errington why he had chosen to spend a year with SPES: 

When I looked at the programme at SPES, I was really struck by the diversity of the activities, study and opportunities it offered – and it each of these aspects had an appeal and seemed to offer solutions to various questions or desires I had.

I had questions and felt that I wasn’t well equipped to witness to my faith. The idea of studying the whole Catechism really appealed.

Also I felt unable to witness to my faith and unsure about my duty to speak of it to others. The opportunities for outreach, evangelization and mission at SPES seemed like a chance to do something to put this right. And I was attracted by the idea of living in community and building a solid life of prayer. I wanted to give something, knowing God is not outdone in generosity and SPES seemed like a place where I was going to be challenged.

- Were you brought up a Catholic? Has the year with SPES deepened your faith? Did it raise new issues for you?

Yes, I was brought up as a Catholic by my Mother. I have an elder brother and a younger sister. My Father converted to Catholicism while I was in my teens. We started to pray together more as a family – particularly the family rosary each evening. I see this as a real blessing for myself and my whole family.

Throughout our year at SPES we have had a constant life of community and personal prayer, as well as silent retreats and other opportunities for recollection. I feel that this has provided a unique environment to listen to God away from distraction. I feel that He’s been revealing a lot to each of us throughout the year. Living in community deepens your self knowledge as it often brings you face to face with yourself and the things you’d rather avoid about yourself. I see myself differently after my year at SPES.

Another area that springs to mind is that SPES has given me an amazing insight into the universality of the Church. Living with Catholics from China, Brazil , America as well as other parts of Europe has been eye opening. I also have seen much of the good happening in the Church in this country. Seeing the diversity of the Church has been a challenge that has raised new issues because it involves looking beyond that which I am used to and considering the many ways in which the Spirit is renewing the Church and bringing people to deeper faith.

 - Tell us a bit about your background: where did you go to school? University?

 When I was seven we moved to Lancashire in the North West of England. I went to local Catholic primary and secondary schools. However it wasn’t until I went to University at Cambridge that I made good friends with fellow Catholics who wanted to take their faith seriously. It was also at university where the challenges from others about my faith became more intellectual and more pronounced and I realized I needed to go deeper. I also became increasingly aware of the confusion and struggles young people are facing and the need to be able to bring our faith to others who are in need of hope and to engage with the re-evangelisation of our culture.

 After I graduated I worked for a short time in the IT department of a university close to my home and also spent a few months assisting a parish priest. I had first heard about SPES while I was still at university but it was during this year that I started to think seriously about giving a year myself.  

 - Soho has a reputation for being a sordid and rather horrid place - but also a place of good restaurants and pubs.  What is it like to live there, and evangelise there?

 There’s no denying that Soho deserves its reputation. It’s a place where people are seeking entertainment and also love, and a lot of the time they’re seeking for it in the wrong places.

However, we don’t actually live in Soho so it doesn’t become too oppressive. We commute to St Patrick’s every day – which is like a kind of Oasis in the midst of all the noise and sordid imagery of Soho.

As part of our outreach we go out in pairs onto the streets to speak to people about our faith. This generally happens on Fridays in the evening while people’s behaviour is still more restrained. This hasn’t been easy but has been the source of some beautiful encounters. The ‘open-mindedness’ of a place like Soho does at least mean that often people will be willing to talk and listen to you since it is a place where ‘anything goes’. Although we have encountered anger and sometimes been rejected, there have also been many surprising conversations and even chances to pray with people who are broken and confused by life. All this happens while others remain in Adoration in the Church praying for the others and for the conversion of Soho .

As the year has gone on I have realized that this evangelisation is not our work – we are merely instruments who go out and try and be receptive to the Holy Spirit. I think the nature of a place like Soho means that there is an even greater need and responsibility for a Christian presence to witness to the light which is stronger than the darkness.

- Has it been hard to live in a community? Do you all get on well?

It was easy at first! On the whole we have got on well and have shared moments of great joy. It has truly felt like belonging to a new family – which brings the freedom of knowing you are loved and accepted even if you make mistakes.

Like any family there have been tensions, difficulties and even sorrows. Looking back I can see how the tough periods were perhaps the most important of all as they allowed us to grow and learn about what it means to love!

- What comes next for you?

First, World Youth Day! It’s such a blessing that our year together can culminate with World Youth Day in Sydney . Four of us are coming and it feels like WYD will be a chance to celebrate the last nine-months as well as put into practice what we have learned and call and encourage others to come and experience a year at SPES. It seems like this could be a great way for other young people to build on the faith and hope that they will discover with renewed zeal in the weeks ahead!

Throughout our year we’ve had lectures and visits from priests, religious, married couples as well as lay people and it’s been a great place to discern God’s call. It’s left me with a clearer idea about the steps I need to take. After WYD I’m hoping to take some concrete steps in visiting Religious communities to discern if God is calling me to Religious life, and if so, where.

- What would you say to some one who is vaguely thinking of giving a year to something like SPES but isn't sure?

I’d encourage them to not let fear hold them back. I have seen how God will lavish us with His generosity if we are willing to take our own small steps of generosity in trust. I really believe that a year given generously to SPES or a similar school of life will bear great fruit for both oneself and others. It will also be a lot of fun!

Image courtesy of JoetheLion, Flickr, under Creative Commons License.

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