Parish Events

Continuing our series on recent teachings of the Popes on the three-fold Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, this week we take up an audience of St John Paul II from 1979, in which the Pope provides a reflection on fasting, one that may be prophetic of contemporary concerns about dependence on online media

The Universal Prayer (Oratio Universalis) is an historic expression of Catholic piety that has remained popular for centuries. Attributed to Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) it is especially associated with use in thanksgiving after holy communion. Pope St John XXIII highlighted the special value of the prayer: he enriched it with an indulgence, and mentioned it

We continue today a two-part series “Composer of the Week”, on two of the composers whose works will feature in the Musical Oratory in our church on Friday 27th March: Born in London in 1877, Henry Balfour Gardiner began playing the piano at the age of 5 and composing at the young age of 9.

We include this week a summary of the retreat addresses that Bishop Erik Varden, of Trondheim, Norway, preached last week in the Vatican in the presence of Pope Leo XIV and members of the Roman Curia. The full retreat address texts as published on Bishop Varden’s own website are individually linked below.  Bishop Erik Varden

We start today a two-part series “Composer of the Week”, on two of the composers whose works will feature in the Musical Oratory in our church on Friday 27th March: Anton Bruckner was born in Ansfelden village in Austria in 1824 and began organ lessons with his father, the schoolmaster at a young age. After

In this three week series, we look at some recent teachings of the Popes on the three-fold Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. This week we hear from Pope Benedict XVI on the “prayer book of the bible”, the book of Psalms from the Old Testament. Benedict proposes the psalms as a rich source

The Garden of Remembrance is undergoing a thoughtful upgrade. A team of parishioners is working together with a landscaper to enhance the garden, making it more beautiful and peaceful, in a way that reflects the dignity of this sacred place where the ashes of our loved ones are interred. Over the years, the garden beds

“Making the Way of the Cross, we, the followers of Jesus, must declare once more our discipleship: weeping like Peter for sins committed; opening our hearts to faith in Jesus the suffering Messiah, like the Good Thief; remaining there at the foot of the Cross of Christ like the Mother and the Disciple, and there with

In this time of renewal in prayer and faith, many find they wish to pick up an old prayer book or find some new reading for strength and enlightenment on their Lenten pilgrimage. In that light, don’t forget that our St Bernadette’s repository (open after 6pm Mass on Saturday and 7am, 8.30am and 6pm Mass

In the course of this week, Erik Varden, Bishop of Trondheim in Norway, has been giving a retreat to Pope Leo and officials of the Roman Curia in the “Pauline Chapel” in the Vatican. Bishop Varden, who undertook secular and theological studies in Cambridge and in Rome, was previously Abbot of the Cistercian Abbey of