Patrons Introduction
The Patron of Christian Community Resources is Fr Dominic Milroy,
a monk of Ampleforth Abbey, who has been closely associated with the work
of Kit and Caroline Dollard since before they came to work at Ampleforth.
After serving as Housemaster, Fr Dominic spent some years as Prior of
S. Anselmo (the international Benedictine University College in Rome) before becoming Headmaster of Ampleforth College (1980-1992), and Chairman of the Headmasters’ Conference. He now chairs the Governing Body of St Benedict’s Primary School in the village of Ampleforth.
Fr Dominic writes:
‘It is a great joy to the Church to see growing day by day the number of lay
people who are offering their personal services to associations and works of the apostolate’ (Vatican II Decree on the Lay Apostolate, November 1965). The involvement of professionally competent and qualified lay people at every level
of ecclesial life is already a proven and crucial element in the Church’s capacity
for self-renewal in very challenging times.
The striking feature of the programme outline by Kit and Caroline Dollard is its breadth. Their pastoral experience, first in London, and then at Ampleforth Abbey, has engaged their professional expertise on an unusually broad front, ranging from the daily realities of parish life and sacramental ministries, to the delicate and specialised areas of marriage and bereavement counselling. The dimensions of their work are multiple - local, diocesan, inter-diocesan and international. Their work in the field has been constantly underpinned by appropriate theological
and professional qualifications.
The Christian community, both local and wider, is fortunate to have access to
such exceptional resources, and looks forward to the enrichment that this offers at so many levels. The building of Christian communities is a many-dimensioned and multicoloured process - personal prayer, family life, liturgical vision, Christian initiation, engagement of youth, adult formation, and crisis management of
various kinds. All these dimensions are represented here.
