The Lion Sermon

Sir John Gayer, a merchant and sometime Lord Mayor of London, was once travelling in the Syrian desert and came across a lion. Terrified he would be attacked, Sir John cried out to God for rescue - and the lion left him alone. In grateful thanks for his safety, on his return Sir John gave money to the parish of St Katharine Cree for the benefit of the poor and for the preaching of an annual sermon - the 'Lion Sermon'.

Each year, a sermon is preached on the theme of facing challenges with the help of God.

The 376th Lion Sermon will be given at a Choral Evensong at 6pm on Thursday 16th October 2025.

The preacher will be Professor Vincent Rougeau, an American legal scholar who is the 33rd President of the College of the Holy Cross, a leading Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, MA. He is the college's first lay and first Black president. He is a popular and well-informed commentator on contemporary American politics.

Professor Rougeau is the first Catholic to give the Lion Sermon, and we will be welcoming him to share a transatlantic perspective on a dramatic time across faith and politics - and how we can rise to meet these global changes, challenges, and opportunities.

To find out more and register to come please visit our events website.

For recent past sermons:

The 375th Lion Sermon was given by Elizabeth Oldfield, author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times (2024) and host of The Sacred podcast since 2017.
The 374th Lion Sermon was given by Luljeta Nuzi, founder and CEO of the Shpresa Programme and an inspirational leader of London's Albanian community.
The 373rd Lion Sermon was given by the Rev'd Josh Harris, the Priest-in-Charge of St Katharine Cree, about the new chapter of ministry in this church. It can be downloaded here.