Today is the feast of St Frances Xavier Cabrini, declared to be patron saint of migrants by Pope Pius XII seventy years ago in 1950. A great saint in the United States, where there are many shrines to her (she is buried in New York); there is also now a
Continue readingRabbi Jonathan Sacks, who has died, was a fine religious leader and a good friend of several Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Nichols. May he rest in peace. I recently reviewed his last book, Morality, in the July issue of The Pastoral Review. You can read the review below; the book
Continue readingOur dear Fr Simplicio has finally left us. Having returned to us at St Edmund’s to assist during the first lockdown, rather than remain on his sabbatical, he has now been appointed Priest in Charge at St Dominic’s, Waddon. We shall miss his quiet calm presence and his ability to
Continue readingWith great regret we have to announce that (unless the government is defeated in the House of Commons tomorrow) we have to close the church for public worship from Thursday, so the last public Mass will be tomorrow evening at 6pm. Many of you have asked our MPs to try
Continue readingThis Sunday is All Saints Day. Public Masses at the usual time. This is a statement about the likely closure of churches from Cardinal Nichols and the Archbishop of Liverpool, on behalf the Bishops Conference: click here. Here in this diocese Archbishop Wilson is encouraging us to write to our
Continue readingSince March you will be aware that we have not been able to have any basket collections in the church during Mass. The parish income has fallen significantly because of this but the many causes which rely on parishes to support their work have lost most of their income. We
Continue readingThis weekend we would be having a second collection for the SVP. It is the third one this year that we have not been able to take so please read the item below and respond in your usual generous way. The parish branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society
Continue readingFr Ashley has prepared a brief summary of the Pope’s new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which is available to read/download: CLICK HERE. Copies of Pope Francis’s encyclical on Fraternity & Social Friendship are now available to purchase. If you would like one please email the office. The price is £6.95 A
Continue readingToday, 600 people will be diagnosed with leprosy. Leprosy is completely curable if treated early. Lepra works directly with communities in Bangladesh, India, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to find, treat and rehabilitate people affected by leprosy. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world, steepening in-equality and injustice, and has made our
Continue readingPact is a national charity which supports people affected by imprisonment. It provides practical and emotional support to prisoners’ children and families, and to prisoners themselves. This Sunday is a day of prayer for prisoners and their dependants. We would usually have a second collection for this Catholic charity whose
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