The Royal Wedding guest list includes three Cardinals, a few Catholic archbishops and two high-ranking priests

Many congratulations to Canon Christopher Tuckwell, Westminster Cathedral's Administrator, who has been invited to attend the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton. He will be joining representatives from other faiths and local churches, most of whom have been selected to represent their communities.

It seems, from the guest list, that most of the clergymen who have been invited to attend the Royal Wedding are Catholic prelates. There will also be individual representatives from other Christian communions and faith communities, including the Judaism, the Muslim faith, and various Oriental religions. Ministers from the Orthodox Churches, the Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church will also be present at the Abbey tomorrow. In fact, the last time Westminster Abbey played host to so many clergymen from different Christian traditions was when Pope Benedict XVI attended an ecumenical service there last year.

Of course, the majority of the clergy at the wedding will be Anglican, many of whom will be serving as ministers during the ceremony itself. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Rev Dr John Hall, will officiate at the service, and will be joined in the Sacrarium by the members of the Abbey's Chapter, its Minor Canons and religious sisters. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Dr Rowan Williams, will administer the vows, whilst the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Dr Richard Chartres will preach - apparently for no more than seven minutes!

The Catholic clergymen who have been invited to attend Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding include the Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster, HE Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who is personally acquainted with the Queen and Prince Philip. The other two cardinals on the guest list are Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, and Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh. The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, will represent the Catholic Church in England and Wales, whilst His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St James, will represent the Pope. Two Catholic priests have also been awarded the honour of being invited to the wedding, the first being Canon Christopher Tuckwell (already mentioned) and the second being Mgr Philip Kerr, who is the Convener of Churches Together in Scotland.

It really is wonderful that Catholicism will be so well represented at tomorrow's Royal Wedding, and that people of faith have been given such a prominent position amongst the guest list. Whatever secularists think, belief in the Divine is alive and well here in the UK!

Below is the full list of invited representatives from the Church and other Faiths, as it appears on the Official Royal Wedding website: -

The Most Reverend Gregorious, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thysteira and Great Britain
The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Rowan Williams
Rabbi Anthony Bayfield
Mr. Anil Bhanot
The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady
Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth
The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Mr. Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe
The Rt. Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton
The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper
Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army
The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan
The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor
The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols
Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
Rabbi Alan Plancey
Imam Mohammad Raza
The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)
The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara
Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust
Mr. Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy
Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)
Canon Christopher Tuckwell
The Reverend Martin Turner
The Archbishop of York and Mrs. John Sentamu