Catholic Man Annual Conference

Last weekend I was invited to speak at the Catholic Man UK annual conference at Buckden Towers in Cambridge.

Buckden Towers, formerly known as Buckden Palace, is a medieval fortified house and bishop's palace in Buckden, Cambridgeshire, England. It is now a conference and retreat centre operated by the Claretian missionaries.

The 15th-century buildings are the remains of the palace of the bishop of Lincoln. Although it is often stated as being built in the 15th century, the first (wooden) Palace was built in the late 12th century, when records show it as being used by the bishops of Lincoln. The wooden structure was replaced by more substantial buildings and a tall brick tower was added in 1475, protected by walls and a moat, and surrounded by an outer bailey. Parts of the complex were demolished in 1632 on the orders of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Victorian house now present on the site was built in 1872. The remains of the bishops' moated palace consist of the great tower, the inner gatehouse, (where we had our lodgings for this event), part of the battlemented wall, which used to surround the inner court within the moat, and the outer gate and wall.

The weekend was a mixture of high quality speakers, prayer and fraternity with a liberal alcoholic accompaniment and lots of excellent food.

I spoke on the path to mature manhood, focusing on the transition from boyhood to manhood and reflecting on what it means to be "mature" from a Christian perspective.

Other talks were given by Samuel Baker, co-founder of Catholic Man UK, Dr Jacob Phillips (who recently penned this excellent piece in The Critic, and the group's chaplain, Fr Pius Collins of the Norbertines.

The conference was attended by an extremely well formed group of men of various ages and this led to some really interesting discussion and panel questions.

There was plenty of time for prayer, an all night vigil in front of the Blessed Sacrament and a huge bonfire.

Where else can you gather in such excellent company, sharing all that is best and hopeful about the faith and Catholic truth with like minded men? Encouraging each other, sharing advice, hope and encouragement. I highly recommend that you join us for future events!

Catholic Man UK has a very active Facebook group you can join here and a website explaining the mission and purpose here.

Photos here by James Leatherland