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...
by Michael McG | Jun 4, 2024 | CAFOD, General Election, Organisations, SVP and Mini Vinnies
A joint message from CAFOD and the SVP… With the General Election fast approaching,?CAFOD and the St Vincent?de Paul Society (SVP) have produced resources to help parishes to reach out to local candidates to find out more about their views on some issues that...
by Michael McG | Jun 4, 2024 | Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), Organisations
“There is one sign which we should never lack: the option for those who are least, those whom society discards.” Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 195 The Prime Minister has called a General Election to be held in the United Kingdom on Thursday July 4 2024. This is an...
by Michael McG | May 23, 2024 | Aid the the Church in Need (ACN), Appeals and Special Events, CAFOD, Catholic Bishop's Conference, HCPT, Missio
Representatives from 25 Catholic charities gathered to recognise a decade of collaboration to promote legacy giving.The meeting, at Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in London, marked 10 years since the official launch event of Your Catholic Legacy...
by Michael McG | May 10, 2024 | ADoRe charismatic renewal, Evangelisation, Organisations, Talks, Retreats and Lectures
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)How often do we consider the amazing truth St Paul speaks about, that the Holy Spirit of the first Pentecost really lives in us? There is an opportunity to...
by Michael McG | May 10, 2024 | Catholic Bishop's Conference
Bishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues for the Bishops’ Conference, has released a statement on the Criminal Justice Bill expressing his deep concern about two tabled amendments that seek to liberalise abortion laws, set to be debated next week...
by Michael McG | May 9, 2024 | Diocese, John Paul Centre, Obituaries, Pastoral Centres
A priest who was named Middlesbrough’s Citizen of the Year for his dedication to the poor and marginalised at the town’s John Paul Centre has died four days after his 81st birthday.Redemptorist Father Gerry Mulligan CSsR passed away in hospital in Glasgow on March 15...
by Michael McG | May 9, 2024 | Voice Column
On May 25 and 26 the first World Children’s Day takes place at St Peter’s. For the first time ever, the Pope has invited thousands of children from across the world to come to Rome to get to know one another, to play and to pray together. As you can read in the main...
by Michael McG | May 7, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
In this month’s Pope Video, Pope Francis dedicates his prayer intention to the formation of seminarians and men and women religious.In his video message, disseminated through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, he says “every vocation is a ‘diamond in the rough’ that...
by Michael McG | May 7, 2024 | Evangelisation, Talks, Retreats and Lectures
Father Rob Esdaile will speak about “The courage of the white flag?” at this year’s Anthony Storey Memorial Peace and Justice Lecture.For the past 20 years, Father Rob has written reflections used by Pax Christi in Peace Sunday celebrations and he is priest adviser on...
by Michael McG | May 7, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events
The diary of diocesan events is usually published in the year book but was omitted this year. Here are the important dates for 2024… RCIA RETREAT DAYSaturday January 27 RITE OF ELECTIONIn the cathedral at 3pm on Sunday February 18 (first Sunday of Lent) CHRISM...
by Michael McG | May 7, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, Bar Convent, Catholic History, Pastoral Centres
York Catholic History Day will take place at the Bar Convent, York, on Saturday June 1.This year, York University PhD student Laura Atkinson will take us back before the Reformation to explore ‘Record keeping and the Care of Souls in Late 13th-century York’ a paper...
by Michael McG | Apr 25, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, CAFOD, CAFOD Appeals, Organisations
CAFOD has launched an emergency appeal to support families in Sudan, as Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations says the country is in the grip of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis. With more than eight million people having fled their homes to...
by Michael McG | Apr 12, 2024 | Appeals and Special Events, National Board of Catholic Women, Organisations, Pastoral Centres, St Bede's Pastoral Centre
We would like to welcome women in the diocese to a day of prayer and reflection at St Bede’s Pastoral Centre in York.Prayer is about your personal relationship with the Lord. As with anything personal, the approach, your expectations and its development can vary...
by Michael McG | Apr 9, 2024 | Voice Column
As we move into April, we bathe in the light of the Risen Lord as we celebrate Easter not just for a day, or a week, but for a whole season. Not only is the light increasing as the days lengthen, but everything is very much springing back into life all around us. At...
by Michael McG | Apr 9, 2024 | Parishes, St Peter's, South Bank
The Diocese of Middlesbrough has issued a response after an open meeting was held about St Peter’s Catholic Church in South Bank. Below you can read a letter from Bishop Terry and questions raised at the meeting, along with answers from the diocese.You can also...
by Michael McG | Apr 5, 2024 | Pope Francis, Pope's Prayer Intention
Pope Francis once again dedicates his monthly prayer intention to women.In The Pope Video for April, which he has entrusted to the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the Holy Father insists on the steps today’s society needs to take, and asks Christians to join him in...
by Michael McG | Mar 27, 2024 | CAFOD, Organisations, SVP and Mini Vinnies
CAFOD provides practical support to people and communities in need around the world.But as part of its mission, the charity also encourages Catholics in England and Wales to respond to the call of the Church to promote the common good, inviting all of us to play our...
by Michael McG | Mar 25, 2024 | Hull, Organisations, Parishes, SPUC
The service will take place at Our Lady of Lourdes & St Peter Chanel Church on Cottingham Road at 10.30am on Saturday April 27, 56 years to the day since the act became law.It will also be offered for all lives lost in the womb through natural miscarriage and for...
by Michael McG | Mar 22, 2024 | Adult Formation, Evangelisation
Some resources from our adult formation coordinator David Cross to help you during Holy Week.
