Vicar's News - 23.11.25

Fr Ian
2 minutes ago
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Christ the King

The 1920s was a decade marked by stark contrasts and global uncertainties. World War I (1914–1918) had ended, leaving the world to piece together the fragments of human suffering and loss. Adding to this sorrow was the 1918 Influenza Pandemic (the so-called Spanish Flu), which claimed the lives of approximately 40 million people worldwide. A comparable context would be the uncertainties of COVID-19 in 2020, but it can’t even compare to the bleak spirit of the 1920s. There was hope for peace amid the chaos, but it remained fragile and uncertain.

Scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations characterised this era, earning it the nickname “the Roaring Twenties.” Yet, these advancements often led to misplaced confidence in materialism, sidelining virtues like temperance and morality. Consumerism thrived, and spiritual values were neglected. Like the radical changes of our time with the AI revolution, the 1920s dealt with radical technological changes many needed to be equipped to handle.

On the political front, the thirst for power was unmistakable. Joseph Stalin rose to power in Communist Russia. Benito Mussolini became Italy’s fascist leader. Mexico’s President Plutarco Elias Calles sparked a civil war, the Cristero War, by oppressing Catholics. Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf in 1925, laying the foundations for the Nazi regime’s descent into authoritarianism. It was a time marked by chaos and dangerous ambition, where humanity wrestled with the question of where true authority resides.

Amid this turmoil, in 1925, Pope Pius XI sought to remind the world that Christ alone is the true King, and he declared the universal observance of the Feast of Christ the King for the final Sunday in ordinary time (Sundays after Pentecost) before the beginning of the liturgical season of Advent.