by Michael McG | Apr 30, 2021 | Mary's Meals
An award-winning charity that was inspired by Our Lady’s example of raising a child in poverty is asked for prayers throughout the month of May for the success of its work. Mary’s Meals was set up by former fish farmer Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow in 2002 and now works in...
by Michael McG | Apr 27, 2021 | Lourdes, Pilgrimage
An important announcement from pilgrinage director Keith Tillotson… I am sorry to have to inform you that as of April 27 2021, Joe Walsh Pilgrim Tours will cease trading.Having spoken to David Walsh the CEO of the company he has assured me that there was no...
by Michael McG | Apr 26, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Bishop Terry's Pastoral Letters
To be read and made available on the weekend of April 24 and 25 in all churches and chapels of the diocese… Dear sisters and brothers, “The harvest is rich, but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Do we take...
by Michael McG | Apr 26, 2021 | Friends of the Holy Land, Organisations
As schoolchildren return to some normality in the UK, churches and schools across the diocese are invited to step out to help support education in the Holy Land, where Covid is forcing families to pull their children out of Christian schools. With movement...
by Michael McG | Apr 26, 2021 | Encyclicals, Pope Francis
Laudato Si’ Animators UK, a group dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si’, is calling on Catholics to take action to support political efforts to protect the environment… “We must not think that these efforts are not going...
by Michael McG | Apr 26, 2021 | Diocese, Safeguarding
The Catholic Safeguarding Project has released its latest newsletter.
by Michael McG | Apr 26, 2021 | Diocese, Education Service, Schools and Colleges
St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Academy Trust – which covers 17 schools in North Yorkshire, two secondary and 15 primary – has been officially placed on the global Earth Day map due to its continued commitment to protecting the environment. The trust is the only...
by Michael McG | Apr 23, 2021 | Catholic Bishop's Conference, Coronavirus
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have issued a reflection on post-pandemic recovery and the challenges faced by the Church in encouraging people back to the Church and her Sacraments. In a reflection titled The Day of the Lord, the bishops also praise...
by Michael McG | Apr 20, 2021 | CAFOD, Organisations, Parishes
Father Bill Serplus continued throughout Lent with his support for CAFOD’s Walk for Water appeal, completing a total of 524,668 steps and raising a magnificent £2,140 from parishioners and their friends. St Aelred’s, York, parishioner Kath Stubbs tells us more… Not...
by Michael McG | Apr 20, 2021 | Adult Formation, Evangelisation, Talks, Retreats and Lectures
The general secretary of international peace movement Pax Christi will give a talk entitled “Shining a light on the power and creativity of nonviolence” for this year’s Anthony Storey Memorial Lecture. Pat Gaffney will reflect on current ways in which nonviolence is...
by Michael McG | Apr 20, 2021 | Jobs
St Francis Xavier School in Richmond has a job opportunity for a school chaplaincy co-ordinator. Part of the St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Academy Trust, St Francis Xavier is a joint Roman Catholic (Diocese of Middlesbrough) and Church of England (Diocese of Leeds)...
by Michael McG | Apr 14, 2021 | Evangelisation, The God Who Speaks
An online retreat delivered by the team from Minsteracres Retreat Centre will explore ways of listening to and responding to the “God Who Speaks” to us through people, the Scriptures and nature. The weekend retreat, held online via Zoom, will include prayer,...
by Michael McG | Apr 14, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations
The bishops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have condemned rebel violence in the east of the country, highlighting attempted Islamisation, the forced conversion of prisoners and the deaths of thousands – including children. In a statement received by...
by Michael McG | Apr 14, 2021 | Adult Formation, Courses
The Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst is offering a series of online evening talks exploring some of the great themes of Catholic Christianity in writing old and new. Speakers in the “The Logos & Literature: Elaborating the Divine” series will include...
by Michael McG | Apr 14, 2021 | Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), Organisations
Caritas Middlesbrough – the umbrella group for the many organisations in the diocese engaged in social outreach work – has produced its second newsletter. You can read the newsletter here…
by Michael McG | Apr 14, 2021 | Diocese, Obituaries
Warm tributes have been paid to retired priest Father Ross Thompson, who died peacefully in hospital at 8pm on Thursday April 8 with his daughter holding his hand. Born in Port Chalmers, New Zealand, on March 29 1942, Father Ross moved to England in 1966 and was...
by Michael McG | Apr 11, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Diocese, Obituaries
Bishop Terry has offered the following words on the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh… Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Queen and the Royal Family at this moment, as they take in the news that Prince Philip has died. A wonderful and beloved...
by Michael McG | Apr 9, 2021 | Obituaries, Parishes, St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough
Following the sad news of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, a book of condolence will be placed in the porch at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Middlesbrough for those who wish to sign it. There will also be a portrait of Prince Philip on display, as well as a...
by Michael McG | Apr 8, 2021 | Miscellaneous, SVP and Mini Vinnies
St Aelred’s, York, Mini Vinnies and the adult SVP worked together to bring some extra cheer to 50 older parishioners this Easter. Each gift bag contained a pot of hyacinths, a packet of chocolate biscuits and a handmade Easter card from the Mini Vinnies. The sun...
by Michael McG | Apr 8, 2021 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
Pope Francis is asking us all to join him in praying during April “for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorship, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis”. The national office of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer...
by Michael McG | Apr 8, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations, Pope Francis
Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq has given fresh impetus this Easter to a movement of Iraqi Christians returning to their homeland after fleeing genocide at the hands of Daesh (ISIS). One month on from the papal visit, which took in Baghdad, Mosul, Ur and Erbil,...
by Michael McG | Apr 8, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), Catholic Bishop's Conference, Organisations
Bishop Terry has backed a charity’s call for churches to help build a hunger-free future as the use of food bank soars. Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network gave out 1.2m emergency food parcels between April and September last year. But the UK’s largest food...
by Michael McG | Apr 6, 2021 | Jobs
The Diocese of Middlesbrough wishes to appoint an experienced, part-time, cross-departmental office assistant. Applicants should have experience of implementing and maintaining office systems and procedures. The successful applicant must have excellent...
by Michael McG | Apr 6, 2021 | Miscellaneous, Parishes, Redcar
George Robinson’s 40 years of dedicated service to the SVP was recognised on his 74th birthday when he received Maundy Money and a letter from the Queen. The Sacred Heart, Redcar, parishioner has given up countless hours visiting people in hospital and at home and...
by Michael McG | Mar 31, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations
An online devotional service for Holy Week – enriched by some of the finest sacred music – is being offered for people wishing to unite their prayers with those of suffering Christians in Iraq. The London Oratory has joined forces with the London Oratory School’s...
by Michael McG | Mar 31, 2021 | Diocese, Safeguarding
The Catholic Safeguarding Project has released its latest newsletter.
by Michael McG | Mar 31, 2021 | Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), Encyclicals, Justice and Peace, Organisations, Pope Francis
The Diocese of Middlesbrough J&P Commission is looking for inspirational examples of parishes, schools and members of our Catholic community being “Guardians of Creation”. The ecological crisis we face, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, is affecting...
by Michael McG | Mar 31, 2021 | CAFOD, Organisations, St Gabriel's
DEACON DAVID CROSS has raised almost £1,000 by walking more than half a million steps during Lent – find out why he’s doing it and how you can help… Each Lent we are encouraged by the Church to give something up as a way of helping us to come closer to God, to help us...
by Michael McG | Mar 23, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Bishop's Engagements
1 Celebrates Mass of the Lord’s Supper (live-streamed) at St Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough 7pm2 Celebrates the Passion of the Lord (live-streamed) at St Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough 3pm...
by Michael McG | Mar 22, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations
An urgent call to end the block on vital aid to people in sanctions-crippled Syria has come from the leaders of a Catholic charity amid fears that the country’s humanitarian crisis has reached an all-time high. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is demanding...
by Michael McG | Mar 22, 2021 | Rome, Vocations
Father Stephen Wang has been appointed as the new rector of the Venerable English College (VEC) in Rome. Father Stephen will replace Monsignor Philip Whitmore, who has been rector since 2013. The VEC was founded in 1579 and since then has prepared priests to serve...
by Michael McG | Mar 22, 2021 | Appeals and Special Events
Well-wishers are being asked to buy a chicken for a leprosy care centre in Zimbabwe this Easter in memory of a Cumbrian missionary who was born 100 years ago this year and is now on the path towards sainthood. John Bradburne was born in Skirwith in 1921 and...
by Michael McG | Mar 22, 2021 | Catholic Bishop's Conference, Coronavirus
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is inviting us all to pray and to visit the Blessed Sacrament if we can as we mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown… We welcome the designation of Tuesday March 23 as a National Day of Reflection to...
by Michael McG | Mar 19, 2021 | Ampleforth Abbey, Encyclicals, Organisations, Pope Francis
Ryedale Christian Council is holding a free Zoom event entitled the Climate Change Crisis – what on earth can we do? Our Lady and St Benedict’s, Ampleforth, and Ampleforth’s Anglican benefice, as well as local Methodists and Quakers, are all involved in...
by Michael McG | Mar 19, 2021 | Diocese, Education Service, English Martyrs, York, Parishes, Schools and Colleges, St Wilfrid's, York, York
St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Academy Trust is looking for skilled Catholic volunteers to join as co-opted members of its Catholic Life and Standards Committee, Finance, Resource and Risk Committee and potentially the trust board. If you are interested in supporting...
by Michael McG | Mar 19, 2021 | Miscellaneous
The Catholic Safeguarding Project has released its latest newsletter.
by Michael McG | Mar 19, 2021 | Parishes, St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough
All Sunday Masses, the Chrism Mass and the Easter Tridium must be booked either on the telephone or online.Call 07745542661 on Friday March 26 from 9am–noon to book whichever Masses you would like to go to during Holy Week, or visit the cathedral website and click...
by Michael McG | Mar 11, 2021 | Appeals and Special Events, CAFOD, CAFOD Appeals, Organisations
FATHER BILL SURPLUS has been enjoying the beauty of York at dawn – all for a very good cause… A chance phone call and a mention of CAFOD’s Walk for Water campaign was enough to immediately get me onto the website and register to do 10,000 steps a day during...
by Michael McG | Mar 10, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Encyclicals, Pope Francis
Bishop Terry is encouraging people in our diocese to take part in Earth Hour on Saturday March 27. “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes...
by Michael McG | Mar 8, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations, Pope Francis
The meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani – one of Iraq’s most influential spiritual leaders for Shi‘a Muslims – on Saturday (March 6) has been hailed as a historic moment of peace. Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN),...
by Michael McG | Mar 5, 2021 | Coronavirus, Courses
The Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst is offering several online talks and webinars during March. Click on the titles for more details and to book. The Drama Displayed: A Journey of Salvation The series of online talks concludes this month. In the...
by Michael McG | Mar 4, 2021 | Appeals and Special Events, Year of St Joseph
DEACON DAVID CROSS has written a special reflection for the Year of St Joseph, based on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde… I don’t know whether or not you’ve read any of Pope Francis’ letters to us since he took up his pontificate in March 2013?...
by Michael McG | Mar 2, 2021 | Diocese, Safeguarding
The Catholic Safeguarding Project has released its March newsletter.
by Michael McG | Mar 1, 2021 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
Father David Stewart SJ introduces the theme of the Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for March, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. TASTE GOD’S INFINITE MERCY It’s already a full year since Pope Francis prayed for the whole world in that haunting and poignant televised...
by Michael McG | Feb 26, 2021 | National Board of Catholic Women, Organisations, Pope Francis
The National Board of Catholic Women is hosting a Zoom meeting with Dr Anna Rowlands to examine the pope’s latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. Dr Rowlands is St Hilda associate professor of catholic social thought and practice in the Department of Theology and...
by Michael McG | Feb 25, 2021 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations
A Catholic aid organisation has announced plans for a virtual Sunday lunch to raise money for a charitable kitchen in Lebanon that serves more than 1,500 hot meals a day to refugees from neighbouring Syria and others in urgent need. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)...
by Michael McG | Feb 25, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Bishop's Engagements
Bishop Terry’s Engagements for March 2021 1 Celebrates Mass (live steamed) at St Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough Attends meeting of Northern Church Leaders via video conference10am 4pm 2 Livestreamed Mass...
by Michael McG | Feb 19, 2021 | Adult Formation, Evangelisation, Papal Documents, Pope Francis
Living Laudato Si’: Your Parish and Your Planet Zoom Retreats in 2021March 12–16 and April 16–19 Led from Boarbank Hall, Cumbria You are invited to attend a long weekend of talks and discussions on Zoom and practical activities on living the message of Laudato Si’ in...
by Michael McG | Feb 19, 2021 | Bishop Terry, Bishop Terry's Pastoral Letters
Pastoral Letter Of Terence Patrick Drainey, Bishop of Middlesbrough Dear Sisters and Brothers, When Covid-19 first began to make its appearance, I thought, I presumed, I hoped it would be a one-day-wonder and would disappear as quickly as it came. After all, we had...
by Michael McG | Feb 17, 2021 | Catholic Bishop's Conference, Pope Francis
The Diocese of Salford has launched a new research project that Bishop John Arnold hopes will spearhead the efforts of the Catholic community to tackle the current ecological crisis by paving the way to a sustainable, carbon neutral future.The research team will...
