Fr Kevin Mason was born in Wallasey on 27 August 1915 and was baptised in the parish of English Martyrs - the elder of two vocations to the monastery from that parish in that generation. He was the son of Martin Richard and Ellen Pauline Mason. He had one sister, Mary, to whom and to whose family, when she married, he was devoted throughout his life. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier's on its old site in Liverpool and was there from 1923 to 1932. There were no Catholic secondary schools for boys on the Wirral at that time. It was normal for Catholic boys to begin their education in local Convents but, when they reached the age of eight they were excluded. They made, unaccompanied, what would now be regarded as a formidable and unacceptable journey, daily, by tram, ferry and tram to one of the Liverpool Catholic boys' schools. For the next nine years Martin made that journey daily to school at St. Francis Xavier's for the education which Catholic families valued so much in those days and which the Jesuits so faithfully provided. He knew from an early age what sacrifice for such Catholic principles meant.
On leaving school in 1932 Martin went straight into office work in Liverpool. Again it was a perfectly normal practice at the time, when the School Certificate (a much more demanding examination than O Level or GCSE), covered the necessary qualification for office work or matriculation into University. Any idea of 'time off' after school to see the world in those days did not enter into the calculations of more than a tiny minority of families in the country. And so he had two years of work experience at a time when Liverpool was a thriving port. Although there was much poverty in Liverpool at the time (combined with very strong family and neighbourhood bonds) the visible effects of the great slump were probably not as dire as in the North East. It was a happier and safer place than it became in later days.
During those two years in Liverpool Martin's thoughts of vocation crystallised and matured. He was close to his uncle Fr Patrick Mason, a very well-known parish priest in Liverpool. From him he learnt much and inherited, for instance, Fr Patrick's devotion to the saints and martyrs of the Church and veneration of their relics. One might have thought he would follow him into the diocesan priesthood but there was another influence at work. The Benedictines at St Anne's and St Peter's Seel Street were influential at the time and drew many Catholics through the splendour of their liturgy on Sundays and Feast days. However it came about, Martin in the end applied to be received into the novitiate at Ampleforth. He was advised to go first to Campion House College in Osterley, run by the Jesuits, for a preparatory educational course with very strong emphasis on Latin which was so crucial a qualification for monastic life and studies for the priesthood at that time. There was more than Latin about Osterley. Young men were prepared there for every form of religious life and for the seminaries; they were prepared not only in studies but also in prayer, self-discipline and community life. Having cheerfully completed the course without wavering in his perception of the vocation God had given him he entered the novitiate at Ampleforth with Damian Webb and Leonard Jackson in September 1936, receiving the habit on 21 September.
Br Kevin made his first profession in September 1937. He began his studies for the priesthood at Ampleforth and then in 1939 moved to St Benet's Hall, Oxford from which he studied theology with the Dominicans at Blackfriars. He returned to Ampleforth and was ordained priest in 1944.
For the next seventeen years he remained at Ampleforth in the resident community. He was a successful and unforgettable teacher of English and Religious Studies in the school.
His metier was not with scholars; it was with those who struggled and his abilities were strikingly effective in that extensive harvest field. In the course of his teaching - and out of it - he had a marvellous power of deflating pretension, encouraging where encouragement was needed and reasserting common sense in every sort of circumstance with the effortless humour which came so naturally from him. These gifts blossomed also outside the classroom, for instance in the theatre, where he was assistant producer with Fr Robert Coverdale from 1948 to 1961. He became well-known and much respected for his sharp observation and quick assessment of what was going on.
His work in the school was only one part of his commitment. He was monastic guestmaster 1943-1945, priest in charge of Oswaldkirk, part time chaplain to RAF Topcliffe 1949-1961, sacristan 1955-1961 and Junior Master 1959-1961. He was always at the centre, in the heart of the community. During all his time in the monastery he had a wonderfully cheerful and positive influence in the community. In the dark days of the war and the difficult years after it he was an unobtrusive but deeply effective and valued counsellor to his brethren. Whatever was happening or not happening when he was about cheerfulness kept breaking out. He was a rare and valued 'community man' of great character and resilience.
Fr Kevin's work on the parishes started in 1961 when he was sent as Assistant to St Benedict's Warrington. He moved to St Alban's in 1967 and then to St Mary's Cardiff in 1970 where he was made parish priest in 1977. He was much loved at Warrington. where he made some lasting friendships which often drew him back there on visits. At Cardiff also he became a familiar and much loved figure with clergy and laity - approachable, cheerful, shrewd and full of pastoral concern.
It was at Cardiff that the liturgical and pastoral developments of Vatican II came home. He accepted them with absolute loyalty to the Church, which was always a very strong characteristic of his. He strongly resisted, however, enthusiasms of the time for various forms of iconoclasm and loose innovation which could not be shown to come from the Council or the Bishops. He sought, not to dragoon the faithful, but to give his parishioners options for new ways without necessarily abandoning customs they valued. There were some practices in fact encouraged by the Bishops but commonly abandoned which he cherished, like certain Catholic devotions and frequent Confession. It was known and appreciated in Cardiff and beyond in South Wales that, while he was parish priest, Confessions were available in the Church at St Mary's every evening throughout the year. If there was a key-note to his time there it was the encouragement and care for the ordinary and unpretentious families, teachers and sisters in the parish. He was always approachable and his cheerful commonsense and real wisdom were deeply valued.
In the last year or so of Fr Kevin's time at Cardiff two hernia operations and other ailments began his last trial of deteriorating health. It was difficult for him to come to terms with his declining powers and the need to do so caused him much pain. He was courageous and determined and had much supportand sympathy. In 1991 it was necessary for him to retire to St Mary's Warrington and in 1992 he returned to the monastic infirmary at Ampleforth. He died peacefully in the Abbey on March 11, 1993 at the age of 77.
DOM MARTIN KEVIN MASON 11 March 1993
1915 27 Aug Born Liverpool
1923-32 Educ St Francis Xavier's
1934-36 Educ Osterly
1936 21 Sep Habit at Ampleforth Abbot Matthews
1937 22 Sep Simple Vows " "
1940 22 Sep Renewed Vows 1 year Abbot Byrne
1941 11 Jul Tonsure " "
20 Sep Solemn Vows " "
1942 17 Jul Minor Orders " "
18 Jul " " " "
19 Jul Subdeacon Bishop Shine
1943 18 Jul Deacon " "
1944 23 Jul Priest " "
1939-42 Studied Theology at St Benet's Hall & Blackfriars
1943-45 Monastic Guestmaster
1949-61 Part-time chaplain RAF Topcliffe
1955 Sep Sacristan
1959 Sep Junior Master
1961 20 Sep Assistant at St Benedict's Warrington
1967 1 Sep Parish Priest at St Alban's Warrington
1970 31 Aug Assistant at St Mary's Cardiff
1977 1 Jan Parish Priest at St Mary's Cardiff
1991 May St Mary's Warrington (retd)
1993 11 Mar Died Ampleforth Abbey aged 77