S. Mary’s stands firmly in the Catholic Tradition of the Anglican Church. Worship is central, and everyone is welcome to our services.
Mass
Sunday 11.00 am Solemn Mass – a sung Mass (traditional language 1984 Church in Wales Prayer Book) with incense, choir, occasional sung propers, motets/anthems.
Monday 6.00 pm Mass
Wednesday 10.00 am Mass
Evensong
Evensong daily at 6.00 pm (said in chancel) except for days when there is a Mass.
For services in the current month at S. Mary’s, Hay; S. John’s Chapel, Hay; S. Eigon’s, Llanigon; ‘Little’ S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin; S. Michael and all Angels’, Clyro and Bettwys Chapel, Clyro please see the Calendar of Services below.
Calendar of Services for November 2026
SUNDAY 1st NOVEMBER
All Saints and 31st Week of Ordinary Time
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Parish Mass at Little S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin
On this Feast we join our prayers with the saints in communion and fellowship, the very foundations of creation reverberate with praise for God. Let us not confine the Saints to the pages of history, to the periods during which they lived on earth.
MONDAY 2nd NOVEMBER
All Souls
6.00 pm Requiem Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
It is important for us to pray for the souls of those who have not yet reached the heavenly realms. Of course, we cannot know who is not yet in Heaven, but it is a small thing for us to do.
WEDNESDAY 4th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
S. Charles Borromeo – Aged 20, I left the Anglicans for the Roman Catholics, ‘swimming the Tiber’ to use a common expression, for five years. The RC Church nearest to my parents’ home in Warwickshire was a beautiful early Victorian building dedicated to S. Charles Borromeo. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584.
THURSDAY 5th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
7th November – S. Willibord. A native of Northumbria, his call took him from this beautiful part of our Island over to the lowlands of continental Europe. He became Archbishop of the Frisians in 695 and set up his residence in Utrecht. Both his home and those places in which he ministered are now, alas, considered to part of the mission field.
SUNDAY 8th NOVEMBER
3rd Sunday before Advent/ Remembrance Sunday and 32nd Week of Ordinary Time
9.30 am Act of Remembrance preceding Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial followed by Parish Mass at S. Michael & All Angels, Clyro
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary, Hay-on-Wye
3.00 pm Remembrance Service with the Royal British Legion and Hay Town Council at S. Mary’s, Hay followed by a procession and laying of wreaths at the War Memorial outside Hay Castle.
MONDAY 9th NOVEMBER
6.00 pm Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
WEDNESDAY 11th NOVEMBER
Armistice Day
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
11.00 am Act of Remembrance at Hay War Memorial
From the Poem called ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon
‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left to grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.’
THURSDAY 12th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
13th November – S. Josaphat. Born in 1580 in Ukraine. He was appointed Archbishop of Polotsk which is in present day Belarus. Beaten to death by an axe during a riot in 1623. The riot was due to religious conflict, there being an uneasy relationship between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant groups. We must pray for an end to conflict and strife.
14th November – S. Dyfrig: He founded many monasteries and Churches across South Wales and the West of England. It is said that he was born in the village of Madeley, a little further down the Wye. He retired from his endeavours to the Island of Bardsey.
SUNDAY 15th NOVEMBER
2nd Sunday before Advent/33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and 33rd Week
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Evensong at Little S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin
MONDAY 16th NOVEMBER
6.00 pm Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
17th – S. Hugh of Lincoln: A native of Avalon, near Grenoble, he entered the religious life and in time joined the community of La Grande Chartreuse.He impressed Henry II of England and was invited to become the Bishop of Lincoln. The See had been vacant for 18 years during which the King had misappropriated revenues and funds for himself. S. Hugh was not afraid to challenge wrongdoing and insisted on maintaining his vow of obedience to the community of La Grande Chartreuse, thus not becoming the king’s man in Lincoln. After his time as Bishop of Lincoln the Cathedral and Diocese were in a much happier and healthier state. The Diocese of Lincoln, which is vacant due to sad circumstances, needs our prayers at this time.
WEDNESDAY 18th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 19th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
20th NOVEMBER – S. Edmund, King & Martyr, also Priscilla Lydia Sellon.
S. Edmund became king of East Anglia at a young age. He had a strong faith and died at the hands of the Vikings.
S. Priscilla grew up in Grosmont, in our neighbouring county of Monmouthshire. She responded to call from the Bishop of Exeter in 1848 to work with the poor in Devonport which, being home to Plymouth Dock, was seeing rapid population growth and many resulting issues. She was friends with that great Tractarian, Edmund Bouverie Pusey, and with some assistance founded one of the first Anglican order of religious Sisters. We greatly need a revival in the religious life in our present day. Prayer will be our aid!
21st NOVEMBER – Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary: We know that Our Lady, raised as a Jewish girl, will have been presented by her parents in thanksgiving for her birth. This would have been at the hands of her parents Ss. Joachim and Anne. Our Lady, in turn, took her Son, Our Lord, to the Temple.
SUNDAY 22nd NOVEMBER
Christ the King & 34th week
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Michael and All Angels, Clyro
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
The feast of Christ the King marks the end of one liturgical year and the start of another. The feast was instituted by Pius XI in 1925 but in 1969, during a period when the Western Churches were seeking to have more in common, the feast was transferred to the last Sunday in any given liturgical year. As of next Sunday, we start Advent and year B (one of three) when much of the Gospel readings set for the Sundays will come from S. Mark.
MONDAY 23rd NOVEMBER
6.00 pm Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
WEDNESDAY 25th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 26th NOVEMBER
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
S. Sylvester Gozzolini. At the age of 50, S. Sylvester sensed that God was calling him from parish ministry to the religious life. In 1231 he founded a monastery at Fabriano in Italy and in time others gathered around him. He governed the house, along with 11 other subsidiary houses, until aged 90. The life of those living there was very austere and centred on prayer. Advent is traditionally a period during which one prepares for the birth of Our Lord through prayer, reflection and, in some Christian traditions, abstinence.
SUNDAY 29th NOVEMBER
1st Sunday of Advent & 1st Week
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Compline at Chapel of the Holy Trinity, Bettwys
Evening prayer at 6 pm daily in St Mary’s, Hay, except for Mondays when there is a Mass.
Advance Notice: Mass for All Souls – Monday 2nd November, 6 pm at S. Mary’s, Hay
If you would like for the name(s) of deceased to be remembered on this feast please note them on a list at the back of S. Mary’s, a note given to your local Churchwarden, or in mention to Fr. David. The souls of those who have gone in the past twelve months and whose funeral liturgies have been held in our Churches will be included.
Advance Notice: Annual Parish Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
Friday 2nd April – Monday 5th April 2026
Save the date! Please speak with Fr. David or Sarah Groves if you are interested in joining us. We need to send an initial number and deposits this month so do not hesitate. I am sure we can add the extra couple later but cannot be certain!
For more details about Walsingham, see the Pilgrimage page.
The Angelus bell rings out twice a day at S. Mary’s, 12.00 noon and 6.00 pm before evening prayer. This devotion reminds people that they are being prayed for and blessed. The Angelus is a very ancient devotion – and I hope that when people hear the bell ringing (3×3, then 9) they will pause and join with the prayer being offered in the church as it rings. Fr. David
