WILLIAM & CATHERINE BOOTH (PART 13)

A Fateful Meeting on Good Friday

William Booth and Catherine Mumford were destined to meet again at a church service a few weeks later, on April 9, 1852, which was a Good Friday. It was also the day before William’s twenty-third birthday. At the service, they spoke together briefly; and, then, partway through the service, Catherine felt ill and decided to return home. If William was disappointed to see her go, his sorrow must have turned to joy when Edward requested that he escort her home to Brixton. It would be a carriage ride to change both of their lives.

A Deep Connection Formed

Their conversation progressed rapidly from small talk to sharing their hopes and dreams with one another. Catherine would later write of their ride together:
“That little journey will never be forgotten by either of us. We struck in at once in such wonderful harmony of view and aim and feeling on various matters that passed rapidly before us, that it seemed as though we had intimately known and loved each other for years; and, suddenly, after some temporary absence, had been brought together again. Before we reached my home, we both felt as though we had been made for each other.”

A Sense of Being Made for Each Other

“It was curious too, that both of us had an idea of what we should require in the companion with whom we allied ourselves for life; if ever such alliance should take place, and here we were, thrown together in this unexpected fashion, matching those preconceived characters, even as though we had been made to order! We felt that, henceforth, the current of our lives must flow together.”