All are welcome to join us as we come together to celebrate our matron saint, St Bride – otherwise known as Brigid of Kildare – as she takes centre stage in this annual festival service on Sunday st February at 11am.

We are delighted that the St Bride’s Orchestra will be joining our choir in a performance of Joseph Haydn’s "Missa in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae" or "Great Organ Mass".

The setting is one of Haydn’s finest and includes a large-scale, virtuoso organ part which he himself played at its premier. It was written in the late 1760s for Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy.

The Esterházy family were immensely wealthy and Haydn worked at their court for some 30 years. He had a considerable workload as Kapellmeister including running the full-time orchestra, composing, playing and mounting operatic productions. Despite the weight of his duties, his musical style developed and flourished during this period under the patronage of a succession of musically cultivated princes.

Brigid of Kildare – our Matron Saint

Bride or Brigid was born in the fifth century near Kildare in Ireland, the daughter of a rich man who went on to embrace the religious life, found a number of abbeys and is the patroness of Ireland.

St Bride features in the art and imagery of our church as reminders of her inspirational life: her compassion for the poor and needy; her generous hospitality and ministry of welcome; her love and respect for the natural world; and her determination to keep the light of Christ permanently afire.

What better inspiration could we have to remind us of our own priorities as a worshipping community than the Irish woman who gave her name to the amazing holy place that is St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.