An English Bishop at the Second Vatican Council: George Patrick Dwyer and the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article presents an annotated transcription of the notebook kept by George Patrick Dwyer, bishop of Leeds (later archbishop of Birmingham), which records his account of the discussion of Sacrosanctum Concilium at the first session (1962) of the Second Vatican Council. Dwyer would go on to be a member of the Consilium ad exsequendam and president of the National Liturgical Commission of England and Wales, and had a prominent role in the implementation of the liturgical reform. His notebook is, therefore, of particular interest to liturgists and historians. The transcription is preceded by a brief biography of Dwyer and a short introduction situating the notebook in its historical and literary context.