by Michael McG | Dec 5, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, HCPT, Lourdes, Organisations
HCPT has launched an urgent “Big Give” appeal in a bid to ensure its life-changing pilgrimages can continue for years to come – and the charity says donations made this week will be doubled.Each year, HCPT provides a pilgrimage to Lourdes for disabled and...
by Michael McG | Dec 3, 2024 | Jobs
Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust has a vacancy for a Lay Chaplain. Applications close on January 9.
by webmaster | Nov 30, 2024 | Bishop Terry, Bishop Terry's Pastoral Letters
Dear sisters and brothers, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, nor am I pessimistic by nature, rather I’m a glass half-full person at least, and can generally see light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how faint. However, reflecting on the words of the Gospel we have...
by Michael McG | Nov 27, 2024 | Jobs, Miscellaneous
Due to the retirement of the current director, Catholic Care (Caritas Leeds) is in the process of recruiting a new director/CEO. For more details, download the application pack below.
by Michael McG | Nov 21, 2024 | Apostleship of the Sea, Organisations
Parishes and schools also play an important part in making Christmas special for seafarers, says Anne McLaren, Stella Maris’ senior area port chaplain for the north of England.“We have run a woolly hat appeal with primary schools for a number of years. We visit...
by Michael McG | Nov 15, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
The Catholic Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland have issued a statement on assisted suicide ahead of the Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. In it, the bishops explain exactly what “compassion” means at the end of life – caring for and...
by Michael McG | Nov 12, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events
Teesside Apollo Male Voice Choir is holding its annual Christmas concert at the Holy Name of Mary Church in Middlesbrough on Wednesday December 4.Tickets are £10, which includes refreshments. Call 01642 281826 or 0162 821866 for details or to book.The choir is always...
by Michael McG | Nov 12, 2024 | Diocese, Obituaries
We were saddened to hear the news that Father Peter Keeling died on Saturday evening (November 9) at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.We keep Father Peter’s family in our prayers at this time.Funeral arrangements have yet to be made.Our picture shows...
by Michael McG | Nov 7, 2024 | Bishop Terry, Catholic Voice, Diocese, Voice Column
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, in accordance with a tradition which goes back 1,300 years, has declared an Ordinary Jubilee Year in 2025. The theme of the year is SPES NON CONFUNDIT – “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). I take this opportunity to give the bare bones...
by Michael McG | Nov 1, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
During the month of November, in which the Church traditionally remembers the faithful departed, the Pope invites us to pray with him for all those who have lost a child.Fathers and mothers who have experienced this “particularly intense” pain, which defies all human...
by Michael McG | Nov 1, 2024 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Organisations
Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (CAN) is inviting all schools to take part in its #RedWednesday live stream on Wednesday November 20.This event offers a unique opportunity to learn, pray, and have fun while supporting children and young people living in...
by Michael McG | Oct 28, 2024 | Encyclicals, Pope Francis
Bishop of Shrewsbury Mark Davies has welcomed Pope Francis’ fourth encyclical letter Dilexit nos on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, as a “great gift”.Bishop Mark said that as the Church seeks to grow in communion, participation and mission, “an...
by Michael McG | Oct 10, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
The focus for this year’s World Mental Health Day (Thursday October 10) is the mental health challenges facing employees in the workplace.In a statement, Bishop Paul Mason, lead bishop for mental health for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, says the dignity of...
by Michael McG | Oct 10, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop of Westminster, has issued a pastoral letter on assisted suicide that will be read in the churches of his diocese on the weekend of October 12-13. Referring to a private...
by Michael McG | Oct 9, 2024 | Missio, Organisations
This year’s World Mission Sunday takes place on October 20.This day of prayer, solidarity, and giving unites Catholics everywhere in sharing the Good News of God’s love, which has the power to transform lives and heal our world.Missio England and Wales invites every...
by Michael McG | Oct 7, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
“For a shared mission” is the prayer intention chosen by Pope Francis for the month of October – a theme linked to the upcoming General Assembly of the Synod, about which Pope Francis reflects in his message entrusted to the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. He...
by Michael McG | Oct 4, 2024 | Pope Francis
Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer and fasting for on Monday (October 7), the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.“In this dramatic hour of our history, while the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to devastate entire...
by Michael McG | Sep 23, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Pope Francis, World Youth Day
Pope Francis has addressed a message to young people around the world for the 39th World Youth Day (Sunday November 24).The message, entitled “Those who hope in the Lord will run and not be weary,” centres on the theme of hope and endurance, drawing inspiration from...
by Michael McG | Sep 23, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Pope Francis
The Holy Father has chosen the theme “God walks with his people” for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR)The Church has marked WDMR since 1914 and this year’s celebration is on September 29 – the last Sunday of the month.It’s always an occasion to...
by Michael McG | Sep 23, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
The government has announced that legislation to enact so-called “safe access” or “buffer” zones outside abortion facilities in England and Wales will come into force on October 31.This legislation, contained in section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, criminalises a...
by Michael McG | Sep 20, 2024 | Organisations, Pact
Prisoners’ Sunday falls this year on October 13. With the support of liaison bishop for prisons Bishop Richard Moth, Pact invites parishes across England and Wales to bring people in prison, and their children and families, before the Lord in prayer. Pact is the...
by Michael McG | Sep 20, 2024 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN)
A Catholic charity is hoping to exceed last year’s milestone of more than a million children joining a campaign to pray the Rosary for peace in the world’s conflict zones. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is holding its “One Million Children Praying the Rosary”...
by Michael McG | Sep 20, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has renewed its call for the government to scrap the two-child benefit cap on Universal Credit payments and is asking Catholics to contact their MPs to make their feelings known. The policy is currently under...
by Michael McG | Sep 12, 2024 | Evangelisation, Talks, Retreats and Lectures
A free retreat is taking place to explore how we can ask the Holy Spirit to stir up in us the gift of prophecy, for the encouragement and comforting of God’s people.The meeting is hosted by ADoRE, one of the longest-running charismatic days of renewal in the...
by Michael McG | Sep 2, 2024 | Pilgrimage
Bishop Terry invites the people of the diocese to join him in Rome from October 6 to 11 2025.This special pilgrimage will be one of the major events marking our celebration of the Jubilee year.The tradition of jubilee and pilgrimage traces its origins to the medieval...
by Michael McG | Sep 2, 2024 | Diocese, Obituaries
Father Dan O’Neill, a much-loved priest who served parishes throughout the diocese for more than half a century, has passed away at the age of 81 after a recent illness.Father Dan was born on January 29 1943 in Ayle, Cappawhite, County Tipperary, Ireland. He attended...
by Michael McG | Sep 2, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Parishes, St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough
At noon on the Feast of St Henry (July 13), I was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Terry at St Mary’s Cathedral.It was such a joyful occasion for me. I was greatly moved to see all the people who had made the journey to be there – family and friends and...
by Michael McG | Sep 2, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
Pope Francis’s prayer intention for September is for the cry of the Earth, which “has a fever and is sick, just like anyone who’s sick”. As part of the Season of Creation – that annual time during which the Church reflects on the care of our common home – it is a...
by Michael McG | Aug 27, 2024 | Friends of the Holy Land, Organisations
World Water Week has been organised every year since 1991 and is centred on water cooperation, for peace and security in its broadest sense.This year, from August 25 to 29, the theme Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future asks us to recognise...
by Michael McG | Aug 16, 2024 | Pope's Prayer Intention
(Vatican City, 23 July 2024) – Pope Francis’s prayer intention for August is for political leaders. The Pope Video accompanies the Pope’s request in that context, as he invites politicians “to be at the service of their own people.” In his...
by Michael McG | Aug 14, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Parishes, St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough
It is a great privilege to be invited by Father Steven to give the homily at his first Mass in this beautiful cathedral.It is a day I am sure you will not forget, if for no other reason than the “air of firstness” about it: the first full day in the priesthood, the...
by Michael McG | Aug 14, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Lourdes, Miscellaneous
We are pleased to announce we have organised a Lourdes Hospitalité Ball for 2024. After the success of last year’s event, we wanted to celebrate in style, so we are returning to the picturesque setting of Gisborough Hall, Guisborough.The date for our ball is Friday...
by Michael McG | Aug 13, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Parishes, St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough
A capacity audience packed St Mary’s Cathedral as award-winning classical singing group The Priests played the only mainland UK show of their farewell tour.The emotional evening – the first of an ongoing concert series – saw the three Northern Irish clerics bring the...
by Michael McG | Aug 13, 2024 | Voice Column
The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a Year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and it will be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of Covid-19 pandemic, and a...
by Michael McG | Jul 26, 2024 | Diocese, Obituaries
Fellow priests and people throughout the diocese were saddened to hear news of the death of Canon Pat Hartnett.Canon Pat, 70, passed away peacefully on Thursday July 25 at Boarbank Hall Nursing home, Grange-over-Sands, where the sisters had been caring for him during...
by Michael McG | Jul 10, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Organisations, postgate, Postgate Society
Cardinal Arthur Roche’s homily at the 50th anniversary Postgate Rally at Ugthorpe on Sunday July 7 2024… One of the more disturbing realities in today’s world is how quickly populist movements form and how the determined positions which mark them are often...
by Michael McG | Jul 10, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Catholic Bishop's Conference, Synod of Bishops 2023
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has issued a statement welcoming the Instrumentum laboris, the working document that will guide the work of the second session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the...
by Michael McG | Jul 8, 2024 | Apostleship of the Sea, Organisations
On Sea Sunday (July 14), let us remember seafarers facing conflict, abandonment and tough times.“Some seafarers I meet have travelled through the conflict area of the Red Sea, with its risks of attacks from Houthis, then have sailed on to the Black Sea with its own...
by Michael McG | Jul 8, 2024 | Diocese, Obituaries, Our Lady & St Peter's, Bridlington, Parishes, St John of Beverley
We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Father David Pick, who passed away aged 80 on Saturday May 25.Father David was the first priest Bishop Terry ordained after coming to our diocese, the ordination taking place at St Mary’s Cathedral on November 21 2009.In...
by Michael McG | Jul 8, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, CAFOD, CAFOD Appeals, Catholic Bishop's Conference, Organisations
A South Sudanese bishop has warned that food has been weaponised during the civil war in Sudan, with famine now looming in his neighbouring country because of the conflict.Speaking to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Alex Lodiong Sakor...
by Michael McG | Jul 5, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference, has offered his congratulations to new Prime Minister Keir Starmer after Labour’s election victory.Cardinal Nichols wrote to the PM to assure him of his prayers as the Labour leader forms a new...
by Michael McG | Jul 5, 2024 | Evangelisation, Talks, Retreats and Lectures
This year’s annual conference for the Flame of Love of The Immaculate Heart of Mary Movement UK takes place in the beautiful surroundings of Ampleforth Abbey from Friday August 2 to Sunday August 4.The conference is an opportunity to learn more about the movement and...
by Michael McG | Jul 3, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
Pope Francis’s prayer intention this month is for the pastoral care of the sick, with the Pope Video that accompanies his words dedicated to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. In the message, published through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope...
by Michael McG | Jun 17, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
“For those fleeing their own countries” is Pope Francis’s prayer intention in The Pope Video for June, which is distributed by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.The video message, produced in collaboration with Tele VID and with the support of the Dicastery for...
by Michael McG | Jun 12, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
Day for Life is the day in the Church’s year dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition.The Church teaches that life is to be nurtured from conception to natural death. In England and Wales, Day for...
by Michael McG | Jun 12, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
To mark Refugee Week, which runs from June 17 to 23, Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees, offers a reflection on three themes – his recent visit to the Bibby Stockholm barge, the impact of the Rwanda Bill, and societal attitudes towards...
by Michael McG | Jun 11, 2024 | Apostleship of the Sea, Organisations
“I wouldn’t miss Stella Maris’ annual Day of Pilgrimage and Prayer in Holy Island for anything,” says Brenda Bland, a volunteer ship visitor with Catholic maritime charity Stella Maris. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the pilgrimage, and Hartlepool-based...
by Michael McG | Jun 11, 2024 | postgate, Postgate Society
Organisers are hoping for a bumper turnout when Cardinal Arthur Roche preaches at the 50th anniversary Postgate Rally in Ugthorpe, North Yorkshire, this summer. Yorkshire-born Cardinal Roche, who is Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the...
by Michael McG | Jun 11, 2024 | Bishop Terry, Voice Column
As I visit our schools in the diocese, it is very evident that much is being debated and done about Climate Change. So, I was surprised to see in a report from back in 2022 which I was recently re-reading, which said that 67% of KS3 (Key Stage 3) pupils in Catholic...
by Michael McG | Jun 4, 2024 | Organisations, SVP and Mini Vinnies
1833 Service Day, June 15, St Vincent’s Centre, Newcastle Looking for an opportunity to share kindness this summer? If you’re 18-35 and would like to support our incredible St Vincent’s Newcastle centre, we’re delighted to welcome you to join our SVP...
