Another important step in Anglo-Catholic ecumenical relations: Queen Elisabeth II has invited Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Primate of England and Wales, as a guest to the royal residence at Sandringham, where the royal family traditionally spends its Christmas holidays each year, and asked him to preach during the weekend of 12 and 13 January. Cormac Murphy-O’Connor is the first archbishop of Westminster to be a guest in the royal estate in Norfolk and to preach to the Queen during the Christmas holidays. “The Cardinal is greatly honoured by the Queen’s invitation”, declared the cardinal’s spokesman, “this is a further sign that the Queen is determined to promote ecumenical relations within the nation”. Two “historic” precedents: in 1982 the Queen welcomed John Paul II in her official London residence, Buckingham Palace; and in November 1995 the sovereign participated in vespers in Westminster Cathedral.
