Praying for the Conversion of England
A new Catholic Truth Society booklet, *The Conversion of England by the Power of Prayer*, republishes a lecture by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan and prayers for England’s conversion by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. Msgr. John Armitage says the booklet is intended to encourage evangelization in England, traditionally known as Our Lady’s Dowry. Armitage reflects on England’s deep Catholic history and sees signs of a possible ‘third spring’ of conversion, particularly among young people.
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A new Catholic Truth Society booklet, The Conversion of England by the Power of Prayer, brings together historical essays and prayers for England’s conversion. In an interview about the publication, Msgr. John Armitage describes England’s Catholic history and points to local signs that he believes may signal a renewed interest in the faith, while acknowledging the country’s secularism.
The booklet reprints a lecture by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, who led the Archdiocese of Westminster from 1892 to 1903, and prayers written by his predecessor, Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. Seminarians at the Venerable English College in Rome reportedly prayed Wiseman’s prayers daily until 1965, when they were replaced with shorter prayers for Christian unity ahead of then-Canterbury Archbishop Michael Ramsey’s visit to Rome.
Armitage, who wrote the booklet’s foreword, presents it as a call for Catholics to evangelize in England, traditionally known as Our Lady’s Dowry. He says the republication of the 19th-century texts reflects a faith that is both “ever ancient, ever new.”
Armitage traces Christianity in Britain to the Roman period, citing the martyrdom of St. Alban around 304 and the presence of three British bishops at the Council of Arles in 314. He distinguishes that early Christian presence from the mission of St. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597 to evangelize the south, where, Armitage says, Anglo-Saxon communities worshipped different gods.
He describes the growth of Christianity from the early martyrs and Augustine’s mission as England’s “first spring.” The “second spring,” in his account, followed Catholic emancipation and is associated with the First Provincial Synod of Westminster in 1852; he says many of the country’s Catholic churches, schools, monasteries and convents date from that period.
Armitage also explains “Our Lady’s Dowry” as a specifically English use of “dowry”: land or money set aside for a woman after her husband’s death. He interprets the title as meaning that England is set aside for Mary, and notes that the country was rededicated as Our Lady’s Dowry in March 2020.
Asked whether England may be experiencing a new period of conversion, Armitage says he sees signs in both anecdotal evidence and local experience, rather than relying only on statistics. In his East London parish, he reports that 22 people had recently joined the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA); only two were baptized, and he says those two were not converts.
He also describes a recent Eucharistic procession in London where he saw many seminarians, and reports the rector of Allen Hall seminary saying it was “absolutely packed.” Armitage says he would not have expected this level of activity three years earlier, while cautioning that the trend is not universal.
Armitage attributes young people’s interest in Catholicism to spiritual restlessness and the search for something enduring amid rapid change. He says the Church’s continuity, including the daily celebration of the Eucharist, can draw people who encounter a tradition that has lasted for centuries.
Asked whether Catholicism will prevail despite secularism and the spread of Islam in England, Armitage describes himself as “very pessimistic” but “full of hope,” saying that Christian hope extends beyond pessimism about events.
Prayer and evangelization shape Catholic understandings of conversion
Prayer and evangelization belong together in Catholic teaching because conversion is both God’s gift and a free, continuing human response. Evangelization proclaims Christ and invites people to follow him; prayer opens evangelizers and those they encounter to the action of grace. It does not replace speaking about the Gospel, but helps that witness become humble, truthful, charitable, and spiritually fruitful.
In Redemptoris missio, John Paul II describes Christian conversion as sincere adherence to Christ and his Gospel through faith. It begins through God’s initiative: the Holy Spirit opens hearts, and the Father draws people to Christ. Yet conversion also involves a personal decision to accept Christ’s saving lordship and become his disciple. It is therefore neither something an evangelizer can manufacture nor something that happens without a person’s response.
Conversion also continues after someone first believes. It is a lifelong turning from a life governed by sin toward a life shaped by the Spirit. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith describes this ongoing conversion, or metanoia—a change of mind and conduct—as a continual reform directed toward deeper identification with Christ. Baptized Catholics, therefore, are not merely the people who evangelize others; they too are continually called to conversion.
The Church’s missionary proclamation aims at faith in Christ and discipleship. It is not limited to encouraging people to become more ethical or to supporting good social causes, valuable as those efforts may be. Catholic teaching holds that people have a right to hear the Gospel of God revealed in Christ, so that they may freely respond to it.
This invitation is not a demand for pressure or manipulation. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith distinguishes proclamation from coercion: the Christian mission seeks to persuade through the truth of the Gospel and the power of God’s word, while rejecting force, dishonest tactics, and undue pressure. Respect for freedom does not require silence about Catholic faith; it requires presenting the faith in a way consistent with the charity being proclaimed.
The aim is also not simply to bring in new members as though the Church were expanding a power-group. The Church’s doctrinal note describes incorporation into the Church as entrance into communion with Christ and a new life animated by charity and commitment to justice. Evangelization thus invites a person not only to agree with a message, but to enter a relationship with Christ and a community shaped by that relationship.
Prayer matters because evangelization depends ultimately on God’s action, not just on the skill or effort of the person speaking. John Paul II says that the new evangelization “draws its effectiveness and strength from prayer.” He explains that prayer involves the baptized in the work of the Holy Spirit, purifies the heart, and opens the way of the human heart to divine grace.
Prayer also shapes the character of the witness. It can guard against timidity, but also against a narrow or self-reliant approach to mission. John Paul II connects prayer with liturgical life, including Mass and Reconciliation, and describes Sunday Eucharist as a source of spiritual life and apostolic action. The implication is not that prayer is a technique for guaranteeing conversions; rather, it draws the evangelizer into deeper union with God and forms a life more capable of witnessing to the Gospel.
Proclamation is not only verbal. The supplied sources also emphasize the witness of Christian life: charity, holiness, and a community’s visible life can make the Gospel credible and attractive. In the context of ecumenism, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity calls prayer, conversion, and holiness the “soul” of the work for Christian unity, noting that prayer is joined to change of heart and holiness of life. This illustrates a wider Catholic principle: Christians’ own renewal is part of their witness to others.
Prayer and evangelization therefore work in both directions. Christians pray for those who have not yet embraced the Gospel, while also asking to be converted more deeply themselves. They proclaim Christ, but must strive to live in a way that reflects the Christ they proclaim. In Catholic understanding, the call to conversion is not reserved for outsiders: the Church’s mission and the continuing renewal of her own members belong together.