must admit that am a sucker for all the sparkle and glitter that precedes Christmas. The season of Advent is a season of preparation for the great feast of the Incarnation of the Son of God that we celebrate on 25 December, and preparation takes many forms if we are going to celebrate in a meaningful way. One of those things is to put all the symbols in place, like Christmas trees and holly wreaths. Another way to prepare is to do our Christmas shopping for the gifts we like to give to our friends and loved ones, and yet another is to prepare ourselves spiritually.
Spiritual preparation doesn’t mean that we should be mean-spirited and say that it is not right to anticipate Christmas by turning on the festive lights and putting up decorations early. Equally, we should engage with the readings at Mass and relive the excitement we find there which builds up to the Birth of Jesus. Let our spirits be lifted by enjoying the nativity plays and carol concerts which take place throughout Advent. Let us enjoy every moment, as we don’t have to be told that the joy of Christmas fades soon enough, especially in these difficult days. We are all affected by war in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and for many people at home, it is hard to make ends meet, let alone buy special gifts for our children. So let us enjoy Advent and prepare for Christmas with open and generous hearts. wish you and your families every blessing and joy as we give thanks to God for the gift of his Son, a gift that never fades or grows dull.
Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP Archbishop of Liverpool
Monthly prayer intentions
Father’s prayer intentions entrusted to his worldwide prayer network for the year 2024:
December For Pilgrims of Hope
Let us pray that this Jubilee strengthen us in our faith, helping us to recognise the Risen Christ in the midst of our lives, transforming us into pilgrims of Christian hope. www.popesprayer.va
The Holy
The power of the Jubilee 2025 logo
Father Simon Gore, Director of Animate Youth Ministries, is hopeful that the logo for the upcoming jubilee will help convey the significance of the year to the young people of the archdiocese. He explained: “Fortunately for the visual world in which we live, the jubilee has a logo that can help all of us – and maybe especially young people – to understand this tricky concept. The logo has a group of people travelling together, reminding young people that they’re never alone on their journey of faith and will always have support in their faith communities.
“There’s also the symbol of the wave, a reminder of the potential difficulties of being a follower of Christ in the modern age. But most importantly, there’s the anchor –the anchor of hope – to show that no matter the difficulty, we can always find hope and comfort in our faith.
“Those messages we can read from the logo speak to all of us but, I think, are particularly relevant to young people. We all know that they face so many difficulties trying to lead a good life and many can feel isolated or alone. I hope that the jubilee might be a year for them to remember that faith and our faith community offer support and comfort in times of trouble and anxiety.”
Eyes turn to the jubilee year
Jubilee 2025 will begin in late December and its theme of Pilgrims of Hope should cast
a bright light on the year ahead.
by Simon Hart
As 2024 draws to a close, the advent of a jubilee year for the Church in 2025 will provide a fresh and much-needed source of light and optimism. This was the hopeful message from Archbishop Malcolm McMahon as he looked ahead to the beginning of this latest jubilee in the Church’s history.
Jubilees happen every 25 years, and the theme of this 2025 edition will be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Writing in his November pastoral letter for the Feast of Christ the King, Archbishop Malcolm said: “We are called to pray in hope for this world of ours, suffering because of the impact of wars, poverty, homelessness and the climate crisis. We recall that our true and only hope is found in the Lord Jesus.”
The jubilee year will begin in Rome on Christmas Eve, though in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, the official commencement date is Sunday 29 December, the Feast of the Holy Family, when there will be Masses at the Metropolitan Cathedral and the CoCathedral of St Mary of the Isle. The conclusion here in Liverpool will come on 28 December 2025.
As the jubilee’s ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ theme would suggest, pilgrimage will be a significant feature of this special year.
Along with the annual Archdiocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, there is a pilgrimage being planned from Liverpool
to Rome next November (from 7th13th). There will also be pilgrimage walks within the archdiocese.
Another highlight of the year will be a planned follow-up event to last September’s Adoremus, which is scheduled for next October and will be built around the jubilee theme. Jubilees have served consistently down the centuries to offer the hope of a fresh start. Along with that sense of renewal, though, there is the wish that Jubilee 2025 will be a time of rest also, according to Archbishop Malcolm. “The jubilee is an opportunity for us to put things aside, to move away from distractions on TV, smartphone and social media, to perhaps pick up a book, talk to someone face to face, or indeed just be still,” he wrote, attesting that this was an opportunity to “practise ‘the presence of God’ in daily life”.
Overall, Rest and Worship is one of six key principles identified by the archdiocese’s pastoral development team for the jubilee, along with the following: Care for Creation; Food poverty; Modern slavery; Managing debt; and Forgiveness.
After the opening Masses at the two cathedrals, parishes around the archdiocese will begin their Jubilee 2025 programmes with a Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on 12 January. This will involve the renewal of the baptismal vows – a ritual containing cleansing and reconciliation.
Liz Parsons, the Archdiocesan Director for Pastoral Development, said: “The Baptism of the Lord is a poignant feast day to be celebrating a jubilee because jubilees are all about new starts, letting go of old habits and taking up new healthier things.”
The schedule of events will continue in February with a special Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral during Marriage Week.
To develop the above-mentioned sense of pilgrimage, meanwhile, pilgrimage walks are planned for May and September with a Pentecost walk scheduled for 8 June, between the Anglican and Metropolitan Cathedrals.
Additionally, a selection of churches have been designated as special churches for pilgrim visitors during Jubilee 2025. These are the Metropolitan Cathedral; the Co-Cathedral of St Mary of the Isle; the church and shrine of Saint Anne and Blessed Dominic in St Helens; St Oswald and St Edmund Arrowsmith in Ashton-inMakerfield; St Mary’s in Chorley; and the Shrine Church of St Marys in Warrington.
Six prison chapels of the archdiocese have been named as places of pilgrimage too, to ensure the participation of prisoners.
Ged Callacher, the Episcopal Vicar for parish development and Jubilee 2025 coordinator, said: “The theme is Pilgrims of Hope, and it is a time to think afresh about what it means to be a pilgrim. That is not just by taking part in some of the walks to places and shrines, but seeing our whole lives as a pilgrimage, from God to God.”
This echoed the words of Archbishop Malcolm, who said: “Each human life is a pilgrimage journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven.”
According to Fr Ged, the jubilee theme will run as a thread through each major celebration of 2025 – such as, a Chrism Oil procession based on ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ at Easter. To this end, a series of resources will be made available across the archdiocese, including a ‘We dare to hope’ pack for Lent. “There will be a lot of resources available from December for parishes to access,” said Fr Ged.
For Liz Parsons, finally, the work of the pastoral development team is focused on making sure that anybody wishing to take part in Jubilee 2025 can draw on the fresh possibilities to find hope in the coming months.
“With all the turmoil and troubles in our world at the moment, can’t think of a better time to regenerate hope and to
focus on hope. Our faith gives us that daily and if we can put some special emphasis on helping to remind people to be hopeful this year, through some of the events we are planning, then that’d be wonderful.”
See Pg 12 for Archbishop Malcolm’s Pastoral Letter.
For the official Jubilee 2025 website, visit: www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.
For more information on the jubilee locally in our archdiocese, visit: www.liverpoolcatholic. org.uk/department/pastoraldevelopment/jubilee
“Hard seats and moonlight”
The Holy Year Pilgrimage to Rome 1900
by
Pope Leo XIII’s proclamation of a Jubilee Holy Year wasn’t meant to produce a tourist boom in Rome. It aimed at spiritual benefits, not material ones. The fact is, though, that in 1900, some 1500 British pilgrims made their way across the Channel on organised pilgrimages; the previous year only 105 had done so.
The largest group made their pilgrimage in October 1900, and they included a substantial contingent from the Catholic Diocese of Liverpool. Our Bishop Thomas Whiteside was one of the senior clergy in the group, and he was joined by several other of our priests from Liverpool, Southport, the Isle of Man and Preston. The pilgrimage was created and supervised by The Catholic Association, an organisation which existed “to promote unity and good fellowship among Catholics”, and the local organiser was Canon Charles Green, whose abilities were such that he combined the duties of Diocesan Treasurer with those of Rector of St George’s Church in Maghull.
In the Archdiocesan Archives is a report of the 1900 Pilgrimage to Rome, though unfortunately its author is not identified. It was originally published in the Western Mail, a Cardiff-based newspaper. The intrepid reporter found that, “even with modern ‘conveniences’, a pilgrimage demands considerable sacrifices and imposes many hardships.” Principally, these seem to revolve around food and transport. Once in Calais, “where the pilgrimage began in real earnest”, there was a struggle to get through customs, then a moonlight rush on an uncomfortable train through northern France, enduring an hour and a half of shunting around the Parisian
tracks before a short walk to a hotel, where they fell upon the food prepared for them: “the bill of fare was boiled fish, with sauce and bread, roast beef and mashed potatoes, and a pear.” So far, so English. An overnight train took them only as far as Provence, where the pilgrims had to jostle for the distribution of lunch on a station platform: “Each man and woman had a large brown paper bag, which contained a half bottle of red wine, two rolls of bread, two slices of cold meat, a few slices of German sausage, a tart or sponge-cake, an apple, a pinch of salt screwed up in tissue paper, and a goose-quill toothpick.”
More Customs hold-ups occurred at the French border, then it was onward in overcrowded and sweltering carriages, with “Italian ways and delays”, to Genoa and Pisa, brown-bagging all the way. The locomotives burned cheap coal, so alongside sleeplessness and stuffiness, the passengers were assaulted by soot. “If we opened the windows the grit came in in clouds. If we shut the windows, it worked in through the ventilators and crevices. There was no escape.”
At least there were compensations in the sunshine and the scenery: “daylight showed us an almost never-ending panorama of natural beauties”, the Alps were amazingly majestic, “and we were in a fever of excitement as we picked out fresh beauties for each other to admire as we craned our heads in turns through the narrow windows.” But there were frequent stops, “hard seats and moonlight”, and much discomfort: “We tried to snooze, and our heads bobbed promiscuously upon each other’s shoulders. Men groaned and women were crying with the pains of fatigue.” Even the scenery palled, as they headed south through vast plains of unproductive farmland “that revealed the defects of Italy.” Where once they had seen “thoughtful-looking oxen [that] leisurely drew the plough or harrow”, now the land was “scantily tilled or untouched.” They prayed, almost despairingly, and sang “Faith of our Fathers”. It was a grimy and exhausted group of pilgrims that finally arrived at their hotels in Rome. “We went at length to bed, tired of bread that was made on American chewing gum principles, tired of chunks of cold meat, tired of red wine, tired, indeed, of everything.” Was it all worth it? Next month we’ll explore what the pilgrims got
On a liturgical note
Towards the end of this month, during the First Mass of Christmas, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome and thereby inaugurate a Holy Year which runs from December 24 2024 to 6 January 2026. The theme for this Holy Year is PILGRIMS OF HOPE.
We are all pilgrims – we are travelling and journeying somewhere; we have a destination and a goal in life. In the third Eucharistic Prayer, we pray for “Your pilgrim church on earth” and that includes our parish, our archdiocese and country, and indeed a Church which is worldwide – the meaning of the word Catholic. That idea of movement, of purpose and direction, is important. We are ultimately not about being static, it’s not about bricks and mortar and stained glass (beautiful and worthy as those things should be!) We are a pilgrim people whose destination is union with The Holy Trinity in the perfection and fullness of heaven. While we are on the journey we are nourished and supported by the Scriptures and the Sacraments,
Sunday thoughts
No sooner am I familiar with managing my electronic devices – iPhone, iPad, PC or Kindle – than I’m invited to install upgrades. Every app has its upgrades, and every upgrade promises new facilities and shortcuts, which I will never use.
By the time I’m used to the new way of doing things, it’s time for another change. ‘If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ is the cry of the elderly. We want to stick with the familiar. Leave me in peace to send and receive emails and messages, write documents and join in Zoom meetings! My biggest fear in navigating the increasing number of options with every upgrade is to inadvertently choose ‘restore factory settings’. The threat of losing all my documents, emails and photos feels like annihilation. Prior to the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel by the Neo-Assyrians in 772 BC, the Hebrew people celebrated Jubilee, or sabbatical, years every ‘seven weeks of years’. That is, every 49 years. A line was drawn. Debts were cancelled, slaves were given their freedom, and wealth and property accumulated by the rich at the expense of the poor were redistributed. The injustices of inequality were redressed. The sale of land to pay off debts was reversed. The message was clear: you can start all over again. The equilibrium of society between rich and poor was reset and restored.
Canon Philip Gillespie
we journey together (the meaning of the concept of SYNOD) and we have the inspiration of Mary and the Saints and all those who have “gone before us marked with the Sign of Faith”.
The use of the word HOPE is also significant. In a world which can increasingly appear listless and without a moral compass, the values and virtues of the Kingdom of God can and should give us a firm point of reference for all our decisions and choices each day.
In the catacombs in Rome, the burial places of the Christians in the first centuries after Christ, a common design is that of the anchor, and there is a hymn that some of us may be familiar with.
We have an anchor that keeps the soul Steadfast and sure while the billows roll, Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.
Happy Advent and Christmastide.
Amen to that.
Mgr John Devine OBE
This was a system more humane than that which prevails today. Imagine if student debt were eliminated and mortgages annulled. Poorer nations in hock to the International Monetary Fund would be liberated, and wealth spent on loan repayments would be freed for investment. Those suffering the effects of poverty and injustice would know their suffering was temporary; living in hope that one day their dignity would be restored. The UK chancellor’s recent budget would have looked so different if Jubilee rules applied.
The common life of early Christians described in the Acts of the Apostles reflects Jubilee tradition: ‘The faithful lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.’
An expectation that the second coming of Christ was just around the corner made their utopian way of life possible. Why hold on to stuff when it won’t be needed?
Next year we celebrate the Jubilee year. What can let go of? Not only material things but grudges, prejudices and resentments. Could I revert to factory settings?
Advent, a time to ponder
Some months ago, a friend who health issues invited me to a Philharmonic Hall.
Nicky was taking part in this concert and wanted her mum, me and a few friends to go. wasn’t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that happened within me as watched these extraordinary human beings share deeply, not only about their issues, but also about their giftedness. The second half of the concert left me an emotional wreck. Each participant picked a song and then shared why that song meant so much to them.
Nicky used ‘Another Day in Paradise’ to describe how she had wandered through life thinking everybody else was living in paradise and that she would never experience it. It was pondering and reflecting on her life that helped her to see that God had never left her. I think Nicky knows that whatever has happened in her life – breakdown, depression, voices in her head, hospitalisation, suicide attempts – nothing can separate her from the love of God.
As reflect on the Scriptures I find the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, a great help. It seems to me that without taking time to reflect and ponder, we are not able to see the gentle action of God’s presence as fully as we might. That is precisely what Mary does. I love the phrase in Luke’s Gospel where the author says of Mary: ‘She treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.’
Sometimes it can be difficult to see the presence of God in our lives and how we are being used and transformed because of that presence. It can take many years of reflection and pondering to recognise the heartbeat of God pulsing in the mess of our lives.
Without taking time each day to pray and be still, we never really see it and are never filled with wonder at what God is doing. In ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’, the 14th-century English work of Christian mysticism, it says that in order to really ponder the mystery of God in our lives, we must first enter into ‘the cloud of forgetting’. Forget all your certitudes, your labels, your explanations, and simply ponder, reflect and pray about what you see around you. Take time to notice what is and simply hold it. That is what Mary did. She did not know that she was going end up at the foot of the cross branded as the mother of a common criminal, but she was prepared to hold the mystery, to ponder, reflect and trust. When that process becomes part of our lives, we’ll become so aware of the mystery of God’s presence within us and among us that we’ll know the truth that we are graced and that God really can do extraordinary things.
Advent is a time to ponder and reflect as we watch and wait for the coming of the Christ child. Take time each day to be still and wait and see what God can do.
Father Chris Thomas
Neil Sayer, Archdiocesan Archivist
The Jubilee picture of Pope Leo XIII
Advert for Miss Hayden’s Pension, where some of the pilgrims stayed. It was recommended for “Those who prefer greater quietness and privacy” than to be found in hotels
artistic the Rome]
If you’ve got any news from your parish that you’d like featured e-mail us with the details at: CatholicPic@rcaol.org.uk
Obituary for Father Dunstan Harrington
Dunstan William Bede Harrington was born in Bradford on 27 May 1950, the son of Bartholomew and Joan Harrington.
He was named after both the house and school at St Bede’s College, Bradford, where his maternal grandfather had taught for many years. Dunstan, however, was educated elsewhere, firstly at St Malachy’s, Halifax, where his father was headmaster, then at St Gregory’s Grammar School in Huddersfield, and finally at St Mary’s College, Great Crosby. He began working for Royal Insurance, where he completed the qualifications necessary to become a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute. His remarkable ability to do mental arithmetic was notable in his time with Royal Insurance.
In his late twenties, he became quite involved with Speakeasy, a discussion and music group for young people, in his parish at St William of York, Thornton. Before long, thoughts of a priestly vocation developed, and he completed his seminary formation at Ushaw, and at the Beda College in Rome. Archbishop Worlock ordained him to the sacred priesthood at St William of York, Thornton, on 10 June 1989.
Following ordination, he served briefly as assistant priest at St Francis of Assisi, Garston (1989-90) and at St Clare’s, Sefton Park (199091). In November 1991, he was asked to move to St Luke’s, Whiston, and to help provide chaplaincy cover at Whiston Hospital.
In February 1996, he took up his first appointment as parish priest at St Hugh of Lincoln, Wavertree. The parish included the aptly named St Dunstan’s Village, a modern estate that had replaced several streets of Victorian terraced houses. Before long, he acquired a black labrador called Hugh, becoming a familiar figure in the streets around the church. There were many who received discreet acts of kindness from him at this time, not least an asylumseeking family in difficulty.
In November 2002, he was appointed parish priest at St William of York, Thornton. From 2006, he also had responsibility for the parish of St Mary, Little Crosby. This proved to be Fr Dunstan’s longest appointment. A tribute issued by Holy Family High School, Thornton, observed that “Fr Dunstan’s unwavering faith, tireless work ethic, and compassionate spirit touched the lives of many.”
Throughout his life, Fr Dunstan retained a love of the Yorkshire countryside, often heading back to the Pennines. He particularly enjoyed returning to the Worth Valley, where he could indulge his lifelong interest in steam engines. For many years he was a member of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society, and he had spent many hours during his student days helping to restore steam engines.
He died suddenly on Sunday 10 November 2024, aged 74 years, in the 36th year of the priesthood. May he rest in peace.
Archdiocesan Synodal Council Meeting
Our Archdiocesan Synodal Council met for the second time in November, with delegates from across the archdiocese meeting at the St Margaret Clitherow Centre.
Every Deanery was represented by clergy and laypeople, both in-person and online. Also present were invited ecumenical brothers and sisters and representatives from various archdiocesan bodies.
Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP blessed the day, after warmly welcoming those in attendance.
He spoke about Cardinal-elect Timothy Radcliffe, and said he mentioned Liverpool in conversation recently: “At the bottom of an email talking about the Vatican Synod, he said Liverpool is being held up as an example of a diocese that is living synodally.
“That’s good that they know about it. We’ve been working very hard at living synodally.”
Monsignor Philip Inch, Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Organisation and Synodal Implementation, then spoke on what it means to be synodal, and how it relates back to our baptismal calling.
Following a prayer led by Chris Higgins, archdiocesan Parish and Deanery Development Adviser, Professor Emeritus at Liverpool Hope University John Sullivan gave a reflection. He focused on the role of the Holy Spirit in these deliberations, discussed Lee Strobel’s “Tour-bus Christians” analogy, and likened synodality to adventure.
This set the stall for two table discussions, one on the outcomes of the Strategy Day meeting in September, and the other on the questions/statements proposed by the Deanery Synodal Councils. Each
deanery also had the chance to present their findings.
Archbishop Malcolm ended the day with an interesting point about the questions on faith.
He said: “What does the Bible say I should do? What does the Pope say? What do they both tell me need to do? But I don’t think like that. turn the question now and I say, ‘What does what I do tell me about God?’ Because that seems to me to be the ultimate question. Now that’s an adventure.”
Memorial Dedication at RAF Woodvale
As the country remembers those who gave their lives in conflict this November, a story from Southport was remembered with a special service in Woodvale, Southport.
Back in 1944, at Segars Farm, Formby, a seven-year-old girl, Joan Braid, had gone home for lunch. While speaking to her father on their cottage step, she saw an American B24 Liberator approaching at a low level towards the air base. It tried unsuccessfully to correct course, but the starboard wing hit a field boundary, causing the plane to spin, crash, and catch fire.
In total, 20 veterans of the 446 Bomber group were either killed or badly wounded. They were travelling to the Palace Hotel in Birkdale following the completion of their missions.
80 years on, a special plaque has been unveiled to commemorate those veterans and the event at RAF Woodvale. The plaque was blessed by Monsignor Stephen Alker, a former army chaplain and chaplain to many different veteran clubs and societies.
Joan attended the service, along
Officer and the Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside
After blessing the plaque, Mgr. Alker said: “It is always an honour to be part of things like this. It’s really important to tell stories like these and ensure we honour those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
Young People having a voice at Laudato
Si Student COP 29 Conference
understand the true environmental issues of other countries and how we can help them”.
voices at a Mock UN Climate Conference on 13 November.
Secondary schools and 6th-form colleges from across the archdiocese came together to tackle climate change by taking part in a collaborative conference to initiate action campaigns to reduce carbon footprints and support behaviour change in schools and local communities.
Liverpool World Centre facilitated the event to coincide with COP 29. Pupils represented 16 countries confronting the climate emergency, debating the impact of emissions and discussing solutions for adaptation. Nate from St Bedes said, “This event allowed us to
Students also heard from a range of voices who took part in a panel and a Q&A on the impact of climate change on the local area, along with some positive ways to lead a more sustainable way of life. “This is a great opportunity for students to develop their critical thinking skills around the climate emergency,” Karen from Liverpool World Centre said. “Events like these empower students to have a voice and feel that they can make changes in their school community to make a difference around the climate emergency.”
The event concluded with Mayor Julian Finch, who was impressed with how well-prepared the young people were; that they had shared
some interesting solutions and debated the issues at an in-depth level. The event was attended by St Bede’s Ormskirk, St Mary’s Leyland, St John Fisher Wigan, St Edmund Arrowsmith Wigan, St Mary’s Astley, St John Rigby Sixth Form, St Peter’s Orrell and Sts Peter and Paul, Halton.
2024 Candidacy and Ministries Mass celebrated in SS Peter and Paul, Crosby
This year, the parish of SS Peter and Paul, Crosby, hosted the annual Candidacy and Ministries Mass—a significant event marking the conferral of the Ministries of Acolyte and Lector, and the reception of Candidacy. The Mass, celebrated by Bishop Tom Neylon, brought together parishioners and clergy from across the archdiocese.
This special Mass highlights a key part of the journey for those in formation for the Diaconate or Priesthood. Ministries like Acolyte and Lector, traditionally called Minor Orders, are open to lay people, but are also conferred on seminarians as they progress through their
training. The Ministry of Acolyte, which involves ministering Holy Communion, and the Ministry of Lector, the calling of a Reader, signify steps of commitment within the Church. This Mass also includes the reception of Candidacy, marking a designation for those progressing toward these ministries on the path towards the Diaconate or Priesthood.
Dennis Jones, a parishioner of SS Peter and Paul, was conferred the Ministry of Acolyte, alongside Andrew Dell from Our Lady’s, Formby. Candidacy was conferred upon Peter Ross, a parishioner of St. Margaret Mary’s parish and father of Fr. Peter Ross, as well as
Ken McCabe from St. Peter and Paul’s, Kirkby. The celebration concluded with a buffet in Sacred Heart College’s hall, offering an opportunity for fellowship and reflection.
As the archdiocese continues to nurture vocations, the annual Candidacy and Ministries Mass remains a vital occasion for affirming those called to serve. For SS Peter and Paul parish, Mgr John Furnival commented that hosting this year’s ceremony was a “happy privilege” —a day marked by prayer, commitment, and celebration.
with the Station Commander of RAF Woodvale, the Lord Mayor of Sefton, Councillor June Burns, the Station Warrant
Mark Blundell.
Guided by Pope Francis’ call to action in Laudato Si and Laudate Deum, young people gathered to share their
OLA stages Holy Land exhibition and Service for Peace
‘Sometimes my friends ask me, “Why did your face get old so quickly?”’ This quote from a middle-aged Palestinian man was typical of the deep poignancy of the recent ‘50 Faces of the Holy Land Exhibition’ at Our Lady of the Assumption in Gateacre.
The exhibition, organised by Friends of the Holy Land, featured moving testimonies along with striking photographs of people living there, shedding light on how the ongoing conflict has affected ordinary men and women from different religious and social backgrounds, not only in devastated Gaza but the West Bank. As one visitor put it: ‘So often the media tell us numbers, whereas their humanity is visible here in these images.’
The exhibition culminated on 6 November with an Ecumenical Service for Peace in
the Holy Land led by Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, along with Canon Mark Madden – who is Canon of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and adviser to the Holy Land for the Bishops of England and Wales – and Canon Dr Ellen Loudon, director of Social Justice for the Diocese of Liverpool.
A packed congregation of 300 people from different denominations heard first-hand accounts from Canon Madden of the effects of the war on the beleaguered Christian community in the Holy Land, while there were songs of peace from children from OLA and St Gregory’s primary schools.
Those present raised £854 for the Disasters Emergency Committee Middle East Appeal and afterwards, the Friends of the Holy Land, the Archdiocesan Justice and Peace Commission,
Pax Christi and CAFOD gave advice on practical steps to develop peace and justice.
Father Stephen Pritchard, parish priest at OLA, said: ‘It was a wonderful opportunity to gather with fellow Christians and pray for peace, and not only pray but see what small actions each of us can take now to build peace in our world, not least the Middle East.’
First Holy Communion Badge competition is open!
Last year, the Archdiocese of Liverpool asked children preparing for their First Holy Communion to design a special badge representing what their First Holy Communion means to them. 6,000 children in the archdiocese received a badge with the winning design, for them to keep to remember their special day.
This was such a hit with the children, we’re doing it again this year!
Children preparing to make their First Holy Communion next Spring are invited to design a badge to commemorate the sacrament. The badge will be round and roughly the size of a £2 coin, and participants can only use up to 5
colours, including black and white.
To get the template and enter the competition, scan the QR code here, and email your entry to badges@rcaol.org.uk. All entries need to be in by 27 January.
The gift of hope, this Christmas
This Christmas, children in the Holy Land aren’t dreaming of gifts, nativity plays, or decorations – but rather roadblocks and bombs. A heartbroken father shared, “My oldest daughter, only six and a half, asks me why they are killing children in Gaza. It’s impossible to shield children from the horrors of war, and this constant exposure to death and destruction is severely impacting their mental health. Parents describe how their children are plagued by nightmares and a loss of appetite, with some even losing interest in playing with their friends.”
This Christmas there may be no celebrations in Bethlehem for a second year, but Friends of the Holy Land are determined to keep hope alive for our brothers and sisters. Since October 2023, up to 20% of schools in the West Bank have closed due to escalating violence. Many more children cannot attend due to travel restrictions, school fees, or because they’re simply too frightened to leave their homes. A father in Bethlehem explained, “They are fearful that the military could come at any time.” Their fears are justified. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education,
there have been 69 attacks on schools and over 2,350 incidents affecting students and teachers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Our team on the ground sees the impact every day. We have funded counselling services providing regular interventions, equipping more children with the tools to navigate the ongoing trauma of their daily lives. We continue to fund school fees as many families, devasted financially by this war, are at breaking point and can’t afford them. This academic year, we have committed to helping twice as many vocational students in areas of study with labour shortages - 90% of our graduates find work.
As one of the few charities in the region with a local bank account, Friends of the Holy Land benefits from a dedicated team of local Christians who possess deep knowledge of the area and its rapidly changing circumstances. Unlike many international charities that face border restrictions or struggle to form local connections, our team personally knows the families in need, enabling us to expand existing programmes
and create new ones effectively — a mission we’ve upheld for 15 years.
Over the past year, as well as keeping children in school and helping vocational studies, we have provided medical care and trauma therapy, built wells, installed water tanks, helped small businesses, and restored the dignity of those unemployed through temporary jobs in the local community. We have also helped other local Christian organisations maintain their social programmes.
Though Christmas celebrations may be cancelled in Bethlehem, our brothers and sisters there share our hope in Christ, which is very much alive. With your help, we can ensure that hope shines brightly through the remarkable Christians who continue to witness for us so bravely.
As you spend time with your families this Christmas, we ask for your help so that we can continue to give Hope to the Children of Bethlehem.
Every blessing to you and your families, Brendan Metcalfe, CEO, Friends of the Holy Land
Christmas Appeal 2024
You can help our team and Christian partners as they respond to the immediate needs of children and young people while providing them with
You can help our team and Christian partners as they respond to the immediate needs of children and young people while providing them with opportunities to heal, grow, and gain the vital skills they need to thrive.
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Please give securely online at: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/christmas
Please give securely online at: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/christmas
Or scan the QR code. If you prefer. Give a gift of HOPE this Christmas
Or scan the QR code. If you prefer. Give a gift of HOPE this Christmas immediate needs of children and young people while providing them with opportunities to heal,
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Last year’s winner Michelina and her parents with Bishop Tom Neylon
Next year 2025 will be a jubilee year. The theme chosen for this jubilee is “Pilgrims of Hope”. We are called to pray in hope for this world of ours suffering because of the impact of wars, poverty, homelessness and the climate crisis. We recall that our true and only hope is found in the Lord Jesus.
The Jubilee Year will run from the opening of the holy door at Saint Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve to the feast of the Epiphany in 2026. More locally, the jubilee will begin on Sunday 29 December, the feast of the Holy Family with Holy Mass in the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Co-Cathedral and conclude on the 28 December 2025
What does a jubilee mean to you and me?
The answer lies in the origins of a jubilee year. It’s an opportunity for us to consider our Christian life. The jubilee in 1300 offered to those who fulfilled its conditions a fresh start with “a clean slate”. Jubilees have been historically used to mark a point in the life of individuals; debts were released, slaves were freed, property was given back, and a full restoration took place. We can recall the “stop the debt” campaign in jubilee 2000 as a reminder of this desire to release from burdens and reset lives.
I would like the Jubilee here in Liverpool to allow us the opportunity to be set free from burdens: one way we can do this is through going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to reset our relationship with God and with each other. would like us all, including myself to come and know and love the Lord Jesus more through prayer, through service of each other and
the community and to become more as a family and as a local church.
The theme provides us with a great opportunity to discover afresh what it means to be a pilgrim not just by taking part in walks which are being arranged to some amazing places of pilgrimage and shrines within our archdiocese, but also in recalling that each human life is a pilgrimage journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven.
The theme of hope
If we look for signs of hope in this diocese, in our parish communities, and in our schools, we will be surprised by what we see, and we can be confident that we are “witnesses of hope”, and that our churches, schools and communities are places of hope. The annual pilgrimage to Lourdes every year is such a moment of hope, and many parishes arrange their own pilgrimages to other centres at home and abroad. Arrangements are also being made for a jubilee pilgrimage to Rome next November (details will be available on the archdiocesan website).
Any jubilee year ultimately celebrates the gift and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross. On the cross, the Lord alone relieves us of our spiritual debts, of our slavery to sin, and sets us free to be with him in building up the Kingdom of heaven. By being “pilgrims of hope”, by seeking to be Saints in our ordinary everyday living, in bringing others to know and love and serve Him in service and prayer we are expressing hope to a world so much in need of it.
Resting in Jesus
Perhaps the biggest opportunity in this coming jubilee year maybe one that we’ve not thought about, and that is the Jubilee year as a year of rest. Yes, for many of us we know we cannot take a year off work and simply rest; we all have bills to pay, life continues with getting the children to school, fulfilling appointments at the hospital and doctors and getting on with our jobs whether we want to or not. But, in the same breath, we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath, to spend time with family and to place our faith at the centre of all we do. Perhaps the coming jubilee will be an opportunity to put those three things in focus? The jubilee is an opportunity for us to put things aside, to move away from distractions on TV, smartphone and social media, to perhaps pick up a book, to talk to someone face to face or indeed just to be still. The jubilee it can be an opportunity for you and me to find concrete ways of living more simply a life of prayer by designating specific time each day or by going to Holy Mass during the week instead of just on a Sunday if our timetable allows. The jubilee year is an opportunity for us to practise “the presence of God” in daily life knowing he walks by our side. This jubilee year can be for us a time of renewal, of re-focus and of rest.
My wish this year as ‘pilgrims of hope’ is that we should grow deeper in faith, in prayer but also in service of God and each other.
On this Solemnity of Christ the King, we pray particularly for the young people of the Church who are our hope for the future, please pray for them.
wish you and your families every blessing as we approach the season of Advent and prepare for the great feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Most Rev Malcolm McMahon OP Archbishop of Liverpool
Ince Benet Retreat Centre
A tranquil retreat centre set in ancient woodland in the heart of Merseyside
- Ten en-suite bedrooms
- Chapel - Common room - Large dining kitchen
- Available for day, overnight and longer retreats
As the season of Advent begins, the cathedral choir and clergy offer a sequence of music and readings to prepare us for the liturgical journey, including choral works by Britten, Byrd and Sandstrōm.
Monday 2 & 9 December
Care for Creation in Advent. 6:30-9pm
Join this Archdiocese of Liverpool workshop for a time of prayer, reflection on scripture and care for Gods earth. St Patrick’s, Wigan, WN1 3RZ. All welcome. Contact j.marshall@ saintpatricks.wigan.sch.uk or phone 01942 247561
3 December
NSPCC Carols by Candlelight
The NSPCC Carols By Candlelight will return once more to the beautiful surroundings of Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral, to celebrate the festive season. The event has an array of fantastic performers from across Merseyside, including the talented PopVox, Cantemus At Calday, Wirral Schools’ Concert Band and the Merchant Taylors’ School Choir.
6 December
Clatterbridge Christmas Concert
Join Clatterbridge Cancer Charity at the Cathedral for a festive evening hosted by Liverpool’s legendary entertainer, Pete Price. Enjoy performances by Mezzo-Soprano Kathryn Rudge and world-renowned artist Emma Rodgers. Don’t miss this special celebration of music and art!
7 December
Come and See
The latest Come and See Day at the Irenaeus Project will feature a talk from Jo Boyce of CJM Music on the Wonder of Music. All are welcome to attend. You are advised to bring a packed lunch and a suggested donation is £10. For more information, contact jenny@irenaeus. co.uk or call 0151 949 1199.
7 December Creative Christmas Workshop
Get into the festive spirit and join us for a relaxing and creative day of Christmas wreath and table-centre making! Guided by the talented Muir Simpson, you’ll learn new skills while crafting beautiful pieces to take home and impress your family and friends. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day, and we kindly ask you to bring a packed lunch. Christmas jumpers are optional, but always fun!
Tickets are £45 per person. Let’s celebrate the season together!
8 December
Bach and Handel
Music by Bach (Cantata 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme) and Handel (selections from Part I of Messiah) for the Advent and Christmas season performed by Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Choir and members of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra.
10 December
Time Out on Tuesdays
Wanting time for yourself? Time to stop and reflect? Time to step aside for a while from the daily round of life? Then why not join The Sisters of Our Lady and the Cenacle on a Tuesday to get away for a few hours to stop and ponder the important things of life? No need to book, just come along and maybe bring a friend. Suggested offering for the day is £10, bring your own lunch, tea/coffee provided. For further information contact Sr Winnie 0151 722 2271.
14 December
A Celebration of Christmas
A magical night of Christmas carols and seasonal favourites. Featuring The Metropolitan Cathedral Choir, Knowsley Catholic Children’s Choir & special guests.
15 December
Johann Sebastian Bach: Nun komm der heiden Heiland (Come now, God’s Chosen Saviour) - Cantata 62
All are welcome to attend an Evening Prayer and Cantata by the Liverpool Bach Collective at St Joseph’s, Blundellsands. Bach composed this cantata to the text of the Advent hymn Veni, Redemptor Gentium. In it the coming of the Saviour is welcomed: “The hero of Judah breaks forth to run the course with joy.”
15 December
A Ceremony of Carols
The cathedral choristers sing Benjamin Britten’s famous carol sequence, accompanied by harpist Elizabeth McNulty.
22 December
Festival Carol Service
Join the cathedral choir and clergy for a mix of seasonal music, readings and congregational carols. Immediately following the carol service, there will be a performance of Oliver Messianen’s monumental organ work La Nativité du Seigneur given by the cathedral organist, Richard Lea. In composing the nine meditations, Messiaen was inspired by the nativity narrative, mountains, birdsong, and stained-glass windows.
27 December
CAFOD Christmas Fun Run: 40th anniversary
CAFOD will be holding their annual Christmas Fun Run on 27 December at Wavertree Sports Park. Registration opens at 10am, while they will look to get to the start line at 11am. Anyone is welcome to run, walk or wheel. To sign up, it is £10 for an adult, £5 for a child and £20 for a family.
The Start of a New Liturgical Year
by Dr Christopher McElroy Director of Music, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
The beginning of a new liturgical year is perhaps the most beautiful time of year in the cathedral. The liturgical season of Advent, one of expectation for the coming of the Christ child, is intertwined with the many carol services and concerts that take place in the cathedral.
Listed below are some of the main musical liturgies and events during December:
1 December, 3pm
Advent Sequence
As the season of Advent begins, the cathedral choir and clergy offer a sequence of music and readings to prepare us for the Advent journey.
8 December, 3pm
Bach & Handel
Music by Bach (Cantata 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme) and Handel (selections from Part I of Messiah) for the Advent and Christmas season performed by Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Choir and members of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra.
14 December, 7pm
A Celebration of Christmas
A magical night of Christmas carols and seasonal favourites.
Featuring The Metropolitan Cathedral Choir, The Rock Choir and Knowsley Catholic Children’s Choir. Tickets: £10 each/£18 family www.ticketsource.co.uk/metcathedral
Cathedral Record
15 December, 3pm
Benjamin Britten’s
A Ceremony of Carols
The cathedral choristers sing Benjamin Britten’s famous carol sequence, accompanied by harpist Elizabeth McNulty.
22 December, 5pm
Festival Carol Service and La Nativité du Seigneur – Messiaen
Join the cathedral choir and clergy for a mix of seasonal music, readings and congregational carols. Immediately following the carol service, there will be a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s monumental organ work La Nativité du Seigneur given by the cathedral organist, Richard Lea. In composing the nine meditations, Messiaen was inspired by the nativity narrative, mountains, birdsong, and stained-glass windows.
The big challenge for the staff and volunteers, servers and choirs at the Cathedral in December is whether everyone will have the stamina to keep going throughout the heavy monthly schedule and have enough energy left to enjoy and celebrate the Feasts of Christmas in the right spirit.
Please see the Cathedral website for full details of the many Advent and Christmas carol concerts and services and other events; I include below just the main Cathedral Liturgies.
The First Sunday of Advent falls at the very beginning of the month this year. In place of Choral Evening Prayer, we have a service of Readings and Advent Music, the Advent Sequence, to herald in the new season. Also in this first week, the Schools Advent Service will take place at 1pm on 5 December. With the schools singing programme now well underway, there will be a chorus of several hundred children singing the music for this service.
We have our own Christmas Concert ‘A Celebration of Christmas’ on Saturday 14 – a night of Seasonal Favourites and Christmas Carols featuring a range of different choirs and musicians. Then, as usual, we have our Cathedral Festival Carol Service at 5pm on 22 December, the final Sunday of Advent. Our Christmas Services begin with First Vespers of Christmas and Blessing of the Crib at 3pm on 24 December. We have a Christmas Vigil Mass at 6pm and Midnight Mass at 12 that evening. We celebrate Christmas Day Masses at 9am and 11am in the Cathedral and 10am in the Crypt Chapel. There will be no evening Mass and the Cathedral closes midafternoon that day.
I hope you are able to join us for some of the services over the next few weeks, and on behalf of the whole Cathedral community, I wish you all a Holy Advent and a Joyful and Blessed Christmas.
May we at the Cathedral Music Department wish each and every one of you a blessed and peaceful Christmas. Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Canon Anthony O’Brien –Cathedral Dean
Pastoral ponderings
by Paul Pimblett
In previous articles, I have written about how discerning a call to the priesthood is a deeply personal experience. Whilst this is true, it is also equally true that formation is also a very communal thing, especially within a seminary.
When the Lord first called His disciples and entrusted His Church to them, He highlighted the communal nature of priestly ministry. He sent them out in pairs to go before Him as His ministers. Ever since, priests and religious have relied upon each other for mutual support and strength in both spiritual and human matters. From my own experience, having a support network of brother seminarians and priests has been invaluable as have been in formation.
Since I began discerning, when have faced difficulties or anxiety, I have always found comfort in the fact that there are others who have faced similar trials. In our time, I firmly believe fraternal care and nurturing a genuine sense of brotherhood, both in formation and active pastoral ministry, is all the more crucial.
In our seminary community at Allen Hall, Chelsea, we are incredibly lucky to have men from all over the world, of different backgrounds and ages studying for the priesthood. The seminary has the usual tensions and blips that come with living in community, but this is normal. Indeed, even the disciples argued and bickered. This is no different to any other family of brothers as we all assist and love one another through our differences as we grow in configuration to Christ. Being able to confide in, pray and socialise with one another is one of the best things about life in seminary.
In June next year, we will hopefully be attending the Jubilee for Seminarians in Rome as part of the wider Jubilee celebrations. It will be wonderful to see such a gathering of men who have answered the Lord’s call and agreed to follow Him in His ministry. I already anticipate it will be an incredibly reaffirming experience in my own faith and vocation. It will also be a brilliant opportunity to catch up with our other brothers who will be attending from other seminaries.
cannot stress just how much your prayers and support mean to us all as we continue with our formation. Please do pray for us and be assured we always pray for you!
Our Lady Queen of Peace, Pray for us.
Pilgrims of Hope - “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5)
Liz Parsons Director of Pastoral Development
A child once asked me whether there was a difference between hope and a wish. I contemplated this for a while and began to consider the idea that hope is more tangible than a wish; it feels like a more realistic, plausible outcome.
We rarely hope for the impossible, but rather we tend to have reason to believe there is a genuine chance of our hope becoming a reality. In Advent, as people of faith, we have hope in the belief that Jesus is coming - into our world, into our lives and into our hearts. As Pope Francis said in his announcement of the Jubilee, “Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”1
As we enter this period of Advent, we are also journeying ever closer to the start of the church’s next Ordinary Jubilee Year in 2025. Just as we begin Advent by reflecting on Hope, this theme will accompany as we become Pilgrims of Hope.
A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, and as Pope Francis notes, “A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life”.2 Upon completing the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrim once described
to me the plethora of emotions they’d experienced on their journey. Through the constant effort of walking without the distractions that are ever present in our world, and through the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit, she completed her pilgrimage with a great deal more hope for the future than when she started. By journeying with hope, we can also allow ourselves to recognise the reasons for optimism in our world.
“The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope.”3
In celebration of this Jubilee year, there will be many opportunities to journey together locally in our communities, with our saints and martyrs. These events can be found on our Jubilee page on our website, and will be constantly updated throughout the year. Let us begin this new year with as much hope as we can muster and through the witnessing of our faith, be the signs of hope people around us are desperately seeking; hope that God is listening because he loves us. As the prophet Micah wrote: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord; wait for God my Savior. My God will hear me.”4
A mother’s forgiveness
“Don’t let my son’s death be in vain”. These words were spoken by Gee Walker after her son, Anthony, was murdered in a racially motivated attack.
Since this tragedy that took place in Huyton 20 years ago, Gee has become an example of compassion, love and forgiveness. On 19 January 2025, Gee will be giving a talk on the theme of “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace” - the subject Pope Francis has chosen for Peace Sunday, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Malcolm prior to Gee’s talk on the 19 January.
Pearse McDonagh
The prison chaplain
By Simon Hart
‘We lit a candle and I gave him a hug, and he said, “I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be hugged”.’ With these words, Deacon Pearse McDonagh is reliving a moment he experienced with a prisoner inside his place of work, HMP Forest Bank in Salford.
A permanent deacon of Liverpool Archdiocese, Pearse joined the inter-faith chaplaincy team at Forest Bank, a 1,400-capacity Category B remand prison, two years prior to his ordination in the summer of 2022. Encounters like the one above are illustrative of the often-forbidding context in which he works. ‘There are cases where feel hopeful, but these tend to be more individual cases,’ he reflects. ‘There are other times when I feel absolutely drained –spiritually, emotionally, and perhaps psychologically.
‘We spend most of our time on the wings, and the prison itself is not designed for compassion or love – it is concrete, it is walls, and the prison officers are there to control movement. We’re there to delve into the prisoners’ lives, right where they’re at, and hopefully give them a sense that God is not just somewhere out there as a metaphorical or philosophical idea, but deeply entwined within our beings and we just have to close our eyes and find God within us.’
Mullingar, Ireland (where he was born), Stalybridge and then Cape Town, South Africa. Yet he has been resident back in Britain since studying for a Theology degree at Leeds Trinity and All Saints in 2002. Having complemented that first degree with four years’ study of Pastoral Theology prior to his ordination, he has the task now of helping others to see God in a place with an often ‘violent, hostile and cold atmosphere’.
Inside Forest Bank, he draws strength from being part of a strong ‘inter-faith chaplaincy team’, adding: ‘When we look at a common problem like the brokenness of humanity, we work together rather than as different traditions just working alongside each other. We really draw on each other’s strengths, to delve into people’s minds and hearts.’
It can be easier said than done with a prison service that he describes as ‘on its knees’. He continues: ‘Across the whole country we’re at maximum capacity in all our prisons and the number of people coming back is high.’ At Forest Bank, while the turnover of staff is high, he sees around ‘60 percent’ of prisoners who leave the prison return.
You are welcome to join these two events hosted by Pax Christi and the Justice and Peace Commission. Mass is at 11am, with refreshments available afterwards, followed by Gee Walker’s talk at 1:00pm for 1:30pm start. For further information contact p.guidi@rcaol.org.uk.
Pearse, who was ordained at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and serves his home parish of Holy Family in Platt Bridge, Wigan, had worked as a childcare practitioner previously. It was the death of his sister Yvonne, during the Covid-19 pandemic, which led him to consider a chaplaincy role. He elaborates: ‘Father Chris Thomas was my spiritual director at the time and he said, “Have you ever thought about prison chaplaincy?” And I said, “Never, I am way too frightened. have very limited pastoral experience.” I lived very much in the head rather than in the heart. But that has all changed. And followed his guidance, I discerned it, and I ended up there. I try to be a ray of light in among the woundedness of some people’s lives and am privileged to be able to proclaim the Gospel of Our Lord.’
Pearse, 54, lives in Wigan with his wife Nichola, a schoolteacher, and their twin sons. His own childhood included spells living in
There are no simple solutions. Instead, he adds: ‘It is about looking more deeply at the addictions and the lifestyle choices that people make. Sometimes crime is generational. We’ve had grandfathers, fathers and their sons – young men – coming through our doors so it runs far more deeply than just the psychological level. Unfortunately, criminality becomes a way of life for some people.
‘I want them to recognise their true worth, their true sanctity as God’s children even if they’ve got it wrong – and sometimes they have got it wrong many times over, yet they are still God’s children. Hopefully we can save lives and break that generational cycle so that children don’t follow their fathers.’ With the help, he affirms, of the hand of God. ‘Yes, there are days when prison chaplaincy can leave me uplifted and thinking, “You know what, Christ was very much in on all that today.”’
Walking Pilgrimage of the Month
DECEMBER
Widnes and Cronton
Our first pilgrimage between our new Families of Parishes sees us take through the family of Widnes and Cronton.
A historic area located just outside the city of Liverpool, the parishes are not too far apart, but are rich in architectural beauty, with two listed churches on the route. Rhere are actually only two parishes covered in this, but a total of six churches. That’s because in 2015, the parish of St Wilfrid was established, uniting the four churches of St Basil’s, St Michael’s, St Bede’s, and St John Fisher into a single community.
On this pilgrimage, you will get to see two listed buildings and a lot of history both on the outskirts and into Widnes.
Duration: 2hrs 17 minutes
Start at Holy Family, Cronton
Begin your journey at Holy Family, Cronton, where you can attend Mass before setting off. Services are held at 9:30 am Monday to Friday, and at 10 am or 12 pm on Saturdays.
It’s a wonderful opportunity to gather with your group, find spiritual guidance, and commence the pilgrimage with a blessing. If you prefer an evening start, you can join the Holy Souls Prayer Group at 7 pm.
Walk 1.8 miles (38 minutes) to St Basil’s
Your first leg is a pleasant 40-minute walk to St Basil’s, the newest church in the parish of St Wilfrid. Founded in 1968, St Basil’s is situated on Hough Green Road, nestled between the towns of Widnes and Liverpool.
Walk 1.7 miles (37 minutes) to St Michael’s
From St Basil’s, it’s another short stroll, past Hough Green train station, to St Michael’s – the first of two listed buildings on your pilgrimage. This Grade II* church, dating back to 1879, is set back from the main road, offering a peaceful spot to pause, reflect, and prepare for the next stage.
Reader’s Prayer Corner
A Prayer for Jubilee
Heavenly Father, As we approach the Jubilee Year of 2025, Renew our hearts with Your grace. Grant us deeper faith, hope, and love, That we may share Your mercy with all. Amen
Send us a prayer (one you’ve heard, or one you wrote yourself), along with your name and your parish, at CatholicPic@rcaol.org.uk to be featured in next month’s issue!
Saint of the Month
Our Lady Immaculate
Jottings of a Lourdes Pilgrim
By Pat Murphy
One of the many things on my bucket list is a visit to Lourdes to take in the feast of the Immaculate Conception. I believe it’s a very different Lourdes to the busy pilgrimage time during the summer. Many shops and hotels close after the main pilgrimage season, but on the day of the beautiful feast the little village comes alive again, with the locals and those who are within travelling distance for the day. A beautiful image I imagine. A programme of services is prepared, and a wonderful celebration of the feast day is had in the coolness of the Pyrenees.
Islamophobia – Is it Racism?
Walk 1.9 miles (43 minutes) to St Bede’s
The longest walk of the pilgrimage sees you make the journey just shy of 2 miles to St Bede’s in Appleton Village. The walk will take you back onto Liverpool Road, and then just a short walk up Kingsway and you will be there.
It’ll be worth it to see another beautiful, listed building in this family. The original parish was founded in 1750, with the current church standing since 1847 – it was consecrated later that year.
Walk 1.2 miles (27 minutes) to St John Fisher
The final step along the way is the walk to St John Fisher, which will take you further into Widnes. It is just off Moorfield Road, which is on the way into Warrington, towards the old Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. If you’ve made your journey on a Saturday, you can catch the Vigil Mass at 5:30pm here.
Enjoy the journey, the sights, and the community spirit as you explore these historic churches and connect with the shared heritage of Widnes and Cronton.
The principal patron of our archdiocese, we celebrate the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, who was conceived in the womb of her mother, Anna, without original sin or its stain.
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”
(Luke 1:28)
In fact, my brother’s last visit to Lourdes a few months before he died was over the feast of the Immaculate Conception. I remember him phoning me after the first day to say they had arrived in damp foggy weather, and going to early Mass, the grotto was surrounded in mist. The statue of the Blessed Virgin was impossible to see. As Mass started, the mist slowly lifted and the sun began to shine, and the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes slowly revealed.
My childhood memories of the feast of the Immaculate Conception were a school Mass and then the rest of the day off for Christmas shopping. It often snowed as well, so Christmas was on its way. This is the most important feast of Our Lady that we celebrate. Our Blessed Lady has many patronages including Lourdes, but my mind’s image is always of her in white with the blue sash as portrayed in Lourdes. She is at our side wherever we are, and there to listen to our petitions.
Once our festive celebrations are over, thoughts turn to the New Year and another Liverpool Pilgrimage. Year 102 for the Liverpool archdiocese. A special Jubilee year pilgrimage. Will you be able to join us in 2025?
Plans are already in place for Liverpool Pilgrimage 2025 – do try to join us. Next year, we have changed our travelling day to a Thursday – the dates will be 24 – 31 July. The official pilgrimage bookings will open early in the New Year, but many pilgrims just come for a few days’ pilgrim during a holiday in France or Spain.
Whatever your plans for 2025 are, do enjoy the peace and serenity of the Christmas tide.us as “Pilgrims of Hope”.
One of the most debated terms in contemporary political and media discourse is ‘Islamophobia’. The Summer riots in 2024 provided clear evidence of the often-quoted expression by the first Muslim woman cabinet minister Baroness Warsi that ‘Islamophobia has passed the dinner table test’. Advocates for institutionalising anti-Muslim racism have been calling for the government to accept ‘Islamophobia’ as the term to develop a legal framework through which racism against Muslims can be recorded and processed in court, similar to the criminalisation of Antisemitism. However, this demand is yet to be accepted and implemented.
The definition of ‘Islamophobia’ has evolved with considerable differences related to its meaning. Questions have been raised as to whether this is an appropriate term and whether attacks on Muslims should be considered a form of racism. The controversy has mainly been concerning the term ‘Islam’ in ‘Islamophobia’ raising questions like: Is Islam a religion or race or both? Are hostilities against the religion or towards the people who follow it? Is the term ‘Islamophobia’ appropriate or is antiMuslimism better? These questions are important as there should be a distinction between criticism of a religion and abuse targeted at people because they follow that religion. In a democracy, no religion should be free from criticism. What a progressive society should not allow are attacks and abuse of people for following a particular religion. It goes against our fundamental values of freedom and equality.
Therefore, the question arises: what should be the terminology that separates the religion from its adherents, and creates a balance where the religion can be criticised, but its followers are protected from abuse? It is also important to acknowledge that terminologies and definitions should come from within the communities, not imposed upon them. For example, the definition of Antisemitism has come from the Jewish community and is widely accepted by all communities and governments. Muslim community organisations have been working on the definition of Islamophobia for over 25 years and the definition has gone through numerous changes. Terms like ‘anti-Muslimism’ and ‘anti-Muslim hatred’ were considered, and Islamophobia was eventually chosen acknowledging that although it may not be perfect, it is the best we have. The argument is that it
is the definition that should be used to determine whether the abuse or attack is Islamophobic or not and that it should apply only when Muslims are targeted for their faith, not the religion itself.
The first academic definition of Islamophobia was in 1997 by the British Runnymede Trust. It defined Islamophobia as, “a useful shorthand way of referring to dread or hatred of Islam—and therefore, the fear or dislike of all or most Muslims”. This was revised in their 2017 definition which focussed on the manifestations of Islamophobia, which they describe as “anti-Muslim discrimination or racism”. It is argued that discrimination against Muslims is a result of ‘cultural racism’, as Muslims are identified by their nonEuropean and non-white descent.
This race element led to the 2018 widely accepted definition when, after a yearlong engagement with the community, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims, along with 76 British academics (including myself), and the largest and most influential British Muslim umbrella body The Muslim Council of Britain, proposed the following definition: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”.
This definition moves away from religion and focuses mainly on people to ensure that only racism against people is counted as Islamophobia. Bearing in mind the criticisms by right-wing politicians and the media that through this definition of Islamophobia, there is a deliberate attempt to shut down criticism of Islam, it focuses on Muslimness and perceived Muslimness. The overwhelming majority of Islamophobic attacks have been against Muslim women wearing the hijab and Muslim men having a beard. Even Sikh men have been attacked, perceived as ‘Muslims’ due to their beards. One of the first victims of post-9/11 Islamophobic attacks in America was a young Sikh man perceived as a Muslim.
In the current climate of increased religious and cultural intolerance sparked by the “culture wars” pushed by some politicians and sections of the media, Islamophobia must be acknowledged and accepted as a legal term of anti-Muslim racism to protect Muslims in this country from being attacked and abused.
Salman Al-Azami, senior lecturer in Language, Media and Communication at Liverpool Hope University
Five Catholic schools and a multi academy trust named winners at the prestigious Educate Awards
Five Catholic schools and a multi academy trust (MAT) from the Archdiocese of Liverpool were honoured at the Educate Awards on Friday, 15 November.
• All Saints Multi Academy Trust won the Most Inspirational Multi Academy Trust award
• Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School won The Communication Award
• Paul Bohan from Holy Spirit Catholic Academy won School Support Start of the Year
• St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School won the Outstanding Arts in Primary School category
• St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School won the Mental Health & Wellbeing Award
• The Academy of St Nicholas won the Careers & Enterprise Award and Most Inspirational Secondary School
A Catholic school from the Diocese of Shrewsbury, Ss Peter and Paul Primary School in New Brighton, won the Outstanding Commitment to the Environment Award.
Now in its 13th year, the Educate Awards features 21 diverse categories and shines a spotlight on all aspects of education from sports and arts to literacy and the environment.
The shortlist recognises inspiring teachers, dedicated support staff and strategic leadership teams who continue to make a meaningful difference in their communities.
As the largest and most prestigious education awards in the region, the Educate Awards brings together schools, colleges and multi academy trusts from Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester for a night of celebration and recognition.
In partnership with ASL Group, the glittering ceremony took place at Liverpool Cathedral and welcomed over 600 guests.
The evening was hosted by broadcaster, Simon ‘Rossie’ Ross.
Alongside the awards ceremony was a delicious threecourse gala dinner and dazzling entertainment from the region’s schools. Providing a soundtrack during the reception was St John Bosco Arts College, a school within the Archdiocese of Liverpool, with an incredible DJ set, followed by a soulful rendition of Heather Small’s iconic hit ‘Proud’ by its gospel choir.
Later, after the call for dinner, the choir joined a larger ensemble in the cathedral’s main space to deliver a breathtaking performance of Emilie Sandé’s ‘Shine’.
Commenting on winning an award, Gary Lloyd, headteacher of The Academy of St Nicholas, said: “Being crowned Most Inspirational Secondary School at the Educate Awards is an incredible honour that reflects the passion, dedication, and commitment of our entire school community.
“As a unique joint Catholic and Church of England academy, winning this award showcases the outstanding efforts of our staff, students, and families who work tirelessly to make The Academy of St Nicholas a place where our children can flourish and thrive through our Christian values. We are immensely proud to be recognised in this way and will continue to inspire and empower our students to achieve their full potential.”
Bringing an end to the evening’s entertainment was LIPA Sixth Form College which delivered a stellar performance of ‘I’m Just Ken’ from the Barbie soundtrack, including a rendition of ‘Dance The Night’ by Dua Lipa.
Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, said:
“Congratulations to the Catholic schools and All Saints Multi Academy Trust on their win at this year’s Educate Awards!
“A huge well done to the runners-up and finalists and thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. The results were incredibly close, and judges had their work cut out deciding not only the shortlist but also the overall winners.”
Kim added: “The Educate Awards is proud to be shining a spotlight on the region’s schools and colleges, and celebrating the amazing work taking place inside and outside of the classroom. Entries for 2025 will open in February and we encourage all types of schools, colleges and multi academy trusts to submit entries.”
There were a number of Catholic schools and colleges who were runners-up in this year’s Educate Awards, including: Maricourt Catholic High School; St Mary’s Catholic College; St John Plessington Catholic College; Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy; St Aloysius Catholic Primary School; St John Rigby College, and St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School.
Associate sponsors of the Educate Awards 2024 include: All About STEM, Angel Solutions, CER Education, CPMM Media Group, EdenFiftyOne™, Fresh Start Waste Services, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Careers Hub, Liverpool John Moore’s University, LSSP, Satis Education, SENDSCOPE, and SupplyWell.
St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School won Outstanding Arts in Primary School
St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School won the Mental Health & Wellbeing Award
The Academy of St Nicholas won the Careers & Enterprise Award
The Academy of St Nicholas won Most Inspirational Secondary School
Paul Bohan (left) from Holy Spirit Catholic Academy won School Support Star of the Year
The St John Bosco Arts College choir delivering an unforgettable performance in Liverpool Cathedral’s main space at the Educate Awards 2024
The four talented St John Bosco DJs take over the decks, spinning the perfect soundtrack for the drinks reception in the Well
Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
As we approach the Jubilee Year 2025, themed Pilgrims of Hope, we are invited to reflect on our ongoing journey of growth—as individuals, as a society, and as part of a larger, collective story. This theme calls us to look back with gratitude, acknowledge the progress we have made, and press forward with courage and purpose.
The last Jubilee, in the year 2000, was a time of excitement, uncertainty, and new beginnings. Many wondered if the muchfeared “Y2K bug” would disrupt our lives, with predictions that computers might fail as the clocks turned to January 1, 2000. Yet, as the sun rose on a new millennium, the world carried on, and we found ourselves ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.
For those of us in education, the year 2000 marked significant change. Under the leadership of David Blunkett, then Secretary of State for Education, the UK introduced reforms that shaped the landscape of learning for years to come:
• Curriculum 2000: This reform restructured A-levels into a modular system, encouraging students to study a broader range of subjects and combine academic and vocational pathways.
• AS and A2 Levels: A-level courses were split into two stages—AS Levels in Year 12 and A2 Levels in Year 13— allowing for greater flexibility and depth of study.
• The Learning and Skills Act: This legislation established Learning and Skills Councils, introduced the Connexions youth service, and reformed inspection systems to better support learners and educators.
At that time, I was working as Head of Religious Education and Assistant Headteacher at St. Benedict’s in Derby. It’s hard to believe that the students I taught back then are now approaching their 40s. Teaching is a unique profession in that it keeps you grounded in the present while constantly reminding you of the passage of time. Seeing students grow, flourish, and step into their futures is one of the greatest rewards—and the most humbling aspects—of being an educator.
The Jubilee Year 2025 challenges us to continue our journey of growth. Just as the Jubilee of 2000 invited us to embrace change and new possibilities, this new moment asks us to nurture hope in ourselves and in others. Education, after all, is about planning for the future—not only in the subjects we teach but in the values we instil and the inspiration we provide for generations to come.
So much has changed since the turn of the millennium—in our personal lives, in society, and in the world at large. Yet the call to be “pilgrims of hope” remains timeless. It reminds us that growth is not a destination but an ongoing journey. Let us step into this new Jubilee with hearts open to learning, to transformation, and to the boundless possibilities that lie ahead.
Faith, talent, and community shine as students step into the spotlight at Tuesday Night Live
Students from St John Plessington Catholic College and St Mary’s Catholic College took to the stage at live music venue, Future Yard in Birkenhead, for Tuesday Night Live.
As part of the event, students from the schools, both part of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust (HFCMAT), performed a range of songs for the audience.
Previously, the trust has hosted Friday Night Live, a termly event that provides students with the opportunity to showcase their musical talents in front of a large audience.
This is the first time the event has taken place on a Tuesday and the first time it has been hosted at Future Yard.
Throughout the night, young people from within the trust came together to perform solo or as part of a group, playing guitar, drums, and other instruments, covering a range of genres such as folk, rock and pop. Over 50 young people got involved.
Fuzion, a Year 10 band from St Mary’s, made their fifth appearance at the event. The band delivered an epic end to the show with a cover of The Bridge, by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
St John Plessington student, Zac, sang ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen.
Laurie Smith, director of music at HFCMAT, said: “Tuesday Night Live was a great opportunity for our trust to showcase the amazing talent within its secondary schools.
“The atmosphere at these events is always electric, with students showcasing their incredible talents and supporting each other; it’s wonderful to see.”
CEO of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, Andy Moor, commented: “It’s always a pleasure to see students from across our family of schools come together and see them perform on stage with confidence and flair.
“We are so proud of each and every one of them.”
Two inspections show Sacred Heart is helping its students thrive
After two inspections in two weeks, Sacred Heart Catholic Academy is celebrating the release of reports that show it is making ‘real, sustained and positive’ progress.
The school welcomed inspectors from both Ofsted and the Catholic Schools Inspectorate (CSI).
Mark O’Hagan, Sacred Heart’s headteacher, said: “What each report says is that our school is moving forward with a real determination to get the very best for our students – and across the board we are seeing real, sustained and positive progress.”
Overall, the school was graded as being Good with some Outstanding features by CSI. Inspectors found ‘through considered and collaborative leadership at senior and trust level, the school has successfully used its core Catholic educational purpose as a driver for school improvement’.
Ofsted rated Sacred Heart as ‘Requires Improvement’ across all categories, marking significant progress since its 2021 inspection outcome. The report highlights the school’s ambition for all pupils to succeed and its united community committed to providing a broad, high-quality curriculum.
Mark O’Hagan added: “These reports are testament to what we are trying to achieve at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy.
“We are not looking for quick fixes or easy answers. We are systematically reviewing and improving all aspects of our school - and it is both pleasing and heartening that two separate external organisations have celebrated this progress.”
The school joined Pope Francis Catholic Multi Academy Trust in late 2021, and as one staff member stated to inspectors: ‘the school is unrecognisable from two years ago’. Andrew Dawson, the trust’s CEO, proudly remarked: “We have worked collectively and collaboratively to put strong foundations in place for further success. The school’s leaders and staff, in partnership with the brilliant students and their families, deserve huge praise and credit for all they have achieved.”
Joan McCarthy Director of Education
Archdiocese of Liverpool
Celebrating improved attendance across St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust
St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust is celebrating significant improvements in student attendance, reflecting its commitment to engagement and wellbeing.
Over the past academic year, the trust has made attendance a key priority, aligning its strategy with the national ‘Working Together to Improve Attendance’ framework. This support-first approach has improved attendance rates and fostered a positive, inclusive learning environment.
To support this goal, the trust provided specialised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions for attendance and pastoral staff in October and February, focusing on strategies to improve attendance across both primary and secondary schools. These sessions equipped staff with the tools needed to effectively address barriers to attendance and provide a foundation of support for students.
The impact of this approach is clear: all primary schools within the trust saw an increase in attendance from the 2022/2023 to 2023/2024 academic year.
Notably, St Nicholas achieved the highest improvement with an impressive increase of 3.39 per cent, while Holy Family and Holy Spirit schools also saw significant gains of over two per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively. Persistent absenteeism at the primary level also dropped significantly, from 33.88 per cent to 27.05 per cent.
In secondary schools, Blessed Carlo Acutis Academy established a mental health and wellbeing space for students, contributing to a nearly one per cent increase in Key Stage 3 attendance.
St Augustine saw a four per cent increase in overall attendance and a reduction in persistent absence since joining the trust. Improvements in school culture and behaviour further support the positive shift in attendance, with Blessed Carlo Acutis recently graduating from the national Behaviour Hubs Programme. This achievement reinforces the trust’s commitment to creating safe, calm, and supportive learning environments where students feel motivated and prepared to attend each day.
St Mary’s sleeps out in solidarity with people facing homelessness
St Mary’s Catholic High School in Astley recently held a sleep out to raise awareness about homelessness and to raise funds for Centrepoint, an organisation that supports young people who are experiencing homelessness.
The charity’s research estimates that almost 136,000 young people asked for help from their local council in 2022/2023 because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness.
During the evening, students took part in activities that helped them to understand how some people become homeless and the kind of support that is offered – and also what happens when there is a lack of support.
Staff reported that all those that took part in the sleep out had a very fun evening together. From sharing time in prayer, watching a film, and trying to play the ukulele, there were plenty of activities for students to bond over.
As the night went on, the activities came to an end, and then it was time to sleep outside. Participants slept on the school playground in solidarity with those who sleep on the streets. Students acknowledged that while it was cold, they knew that they were safe.
The school was incredibly proud of the young people and staff who gave up their usual Friday evening to take part in the sleep out.
FLOURISH AND THRIVE
The Academy of St Nicholas partners with Liverpool Airport to inspire the next generation
The Academy of St Nicholas has formed an inspiring partnership with Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA), aimed at providing students with valuable insights into careers within the aviation industry.
The partnership will see students engaging in a series of employer-led encounters, interactive workshops, and on-site visits to the airport. These experiences are designed to enrich students’ understanding of careers and employability, fostering an aspirational environment that will develop essential skills for the workplace.
Mr Gary Lloyd, headteacher of The Academy of St Nicholas, said: “This partnership will open doors for our students, allowing them to discover a variety of career opportunities while gaining firsthand experience in an interesting and growing sector right in the heart of their own community.”
An event was held at the academy to celebrate the launch of the partnership. CEO of LJLA, John Irving, together with senior directors and managers from the airport were in attendance, engaging with students and sharing more about the airport’s operations and career pathways.
John Irving, CEO of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, commented: “Students at the academy are potentially the airport employees of the future, and we hope that we can help improve their understanding of the diverse mix of careers and opportunities available at the airport.
“It will also prove really beneficial and rewarding for the various colleagues at the airport who will be working with the students, developing their own skill set and helping to make a difference in our local community too.”
Miss Caroline Swarbrick, trust careers and employability manager at All Saints Multi Academy Trust, added: “This initiative is a significant step in bridging the gap between education and employment, equipping students with the tools and experiences necessary to thrive in today’s job market.”
The Academy of St Nicholas is a proud member of All Saints Multi Academy Trust.
Our Lady of Lourdes praised for ‘outstanding’ Catholic education in inspection report
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary and Nursery School celebrated recently after it received an ‘outstanding’ rating from the Catholic Schools Inspectorate.
The Southport-based school was praised for its strong commitment to its Catholic ethos and the wellbeing of its community. Pupils were acknowledged to actively demonstrate core values like resilience, love, and compassion, and engage in activities that reflect Catholic social teaching.
The report acknowledged that Christ is central to the school’s daily life, with leaders and governors ‘passionate’ in ensuring that all members of the community experience the school mission. One staff member commented: “Our leadership team could not be more supportive of staff wellbeing, and truly feel valued working here at Our Lady of Lourdes.”
The report stated that positive relationships are evident throughout the school, including a strong connection with the parish priest, who plays an active role in supporting and promoting the Catholic life of both the pupils and their families.
Prayer and liturgy are integral to school life at Our Lady of Lourdes, with daily routines and worship opportunities tied to the liturgical year, helping pupils understand key events. Inspectors highlighted that some pupils effectively plan and evaluate their own prayer and liturgy moments.
Leaders and governors also ensure that the budget allocation for prayer and liturgy is comparable to other core subjects. The school’s religious education curriculum received
great feedback in the report. Pupils were said to be able to demonstrate strong theological thinking and have a good knowledge of scripture, with some able to recall Bible verses and apply them to their lives.
The report highlighted that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are also supported to achieve the best outcomes.
Overall, the school achieved a 1 (outstanding) in every area of the report.
Searching for the meaning of a jubilee year
By Father Simon Gore from Animate Youth Ministries
For the last few months, a small group of us have been meeting to discuss what we, as an archdiocese, could do to celebrate the jubilee year. In some ways, this was an exciting group to be part of. In other ways, it caused me some confusion.
knew what a jubilee year was. And I understood what it was all about on a historical level and on a theoretical, academic and abstract level. But when was asked to think about what a jubilee meant for us here in Liverpool, I became a little unsure. How do you relate and translate an ancient event into the practicalities of modern-day diocesan parish life?
To get my head clear, I sat down and tried to work out what a jubilee was all about. And from there, how that would apply to me here in Liverpool.
To start at the beginning, it was in the year 1300 that Pope Boniface VIII began the first jubilee year in the Catholic Church. That first jubilee year promised the ‘full pardon of all sins’ to all those who fulfilled certain conditions. However, the idea goes back further than 1300 and had a broader meaning for those who took part.
Leviticus 25: 1-13 promises a year of jubilee every 50 years. This year should free people from their debts, release slaves and return property to those that owned it. It was also a year of rest. To appreciate what a jubilee offers us and what difference it can make to my life, the answer may lie in those origins.
In some ways, a jubilee year is a chance for a reset of our lives. The earliest jubilees were all about marking a point in the life of an individual. A bookend, if you like. If all debts are released, slaves set free and property given back, it is a full restoration of what was before. It is not denying the past but is saying that the past will not define the future.
Jubilee 2025 in Liverpool will offer each of us the chance to avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: to reset our relationship with God and with each other. Yet the year offers far more than that.
It is an opportunity to reset our relationship with other people and with the ‘things’ that so often build up in our lives that can cloud our relationship with God. We cannot release slaves, but we can release ourselves from being enslaved. It is a year to reflect on what is truly important to us. And to let go of that which is not vital.
We might not be able to return property, but we can think of those who may have no property, those who are disadvantaged in some way. And we might take the chance to assist those people and their communities.
We might well choose to release people from their debts to us. More importantly, we might take the opportunity to reassess our relationships with other people. Have we kept people at bay, ignored them, cut them off? This may be the year to ask if we are somehow placing them in debt to us by the way we behave and speak.
In some ways, any jubilee year foreshadows the work of Jesus on the cross. On the cross, Jesus relieves us of all our spiritual debts and our slavery to sin and sets us free to be with him in the Kingdom of Heaven. The jubilee offers us all these varied opportunities to reset and to reflect on what the Lord offers us through his sacrificial death and resurrection.
Throughout the year, the archdiocese and your own parish communities will offer different opportunities to engage with the jubilee’s themes. Yet the biggest opportunity may well be the one that we think we cannot do. The year of rest. In the same way that we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath, we are also asked to rest in a jubilee year. It is a reminder that we should take rest in the Lord seriously. That work and any other distractions from God – our phones, for example – should not become an idol. This could mean more time in prayer; designating specific times and days to the Lord; going on pilgrimage; making time for a retreat; going to Mass more often. Or simply just being with the Lord without the daily distractions that build up around us.
For the Catholic Church, we can trace the history of jubilee back over 700 years. And we can trace the idea back even further. And so, it is natural that we might wonder how relevant such an ancient idea might be to us in the modern world. But maybe the fact we are still having jubilee years shows their importance. If we take them seriously, they offer a renewal. If we take the opportunities this year will offer, it can truly be a season of celebration.
Mums the Word
We are in the season of Advent, when we prepare for the coming of Christ. The first Sunday is when the Advent wreath is placed at the foot of the altar. The wreath represents Christian values of hope, peace, joy and love. The circle of the wreath is made of various evergreens which represent everlasting life.
There are five candles – three purple, one pink and one white. The purple candle for the first Sunday is a sign of hope; for the second Sunday, the purple candle represents a sign of peace. On the third Sunday, the pink candle is lit; this day is known as Gaudete Sunday and it serves as a reminder that the arrival of Christ is near.
The fourth Sunday features the third and last purple candle, which offers a sign of the love that God wishes to share with everyone. Finally, the white candle is lit on Christmas Day – white as a symbol of the everlasting life of Christ.
We do not always think of what the Advent candles represent. Yet if we take a few moments out from our hectic lives each day during this Advent season and reflect on the meaning of the candles, we may have a better understanding of the significance of the Christmas wreath. Maybe when we go into church, we could pause at the wreath and reflect on the particular candle of each week.
• Let us pray that we will have peace and harmony in our world. Let us not forget all those suffering from the effects of war, homelessness or illness, as well as those families who are struggling to put food on the table at Christmas and cannot afford presents for their children.
‘Holy Mother, Queen of Peace, hear our prayers that wars will cease. Touch the hearts of violent men and teach them how to love again. Through the grace of Christ thy Son, help the world to live as one.’
• Our next Bi-monthly Mass will be at Saint Margaret Mary’s on Wednesday 12 March 2025. It will be our Charity Mass when we present cheques to our nominated charities, and hope to see as many of you there as possible.
wish you all a happy, holy and peaceful Christmas with your families and friends.
Kathy Buck, UCM Archdiocesan President
A century of service News from the Liverpool Province of the Knights of St Columba
A Century of Service
The Knights of St Columba 102nd Supreme Council Meeting – Liverpool October 2024
As reported last month, the 102nd Supreme Council Meeting was hosted the weekend of 18 - 20 October at The Liner Hotel in Liverpool city centre. Brothers from all over England, Scotland, Wales & the Channel Islands were joined by brothers from Ireland - The Knights of St. Columbanus – and other esteemed guests, including Bishop Tom Neylon our Ecclesiastical Advisor, and other members of the clergy from across the country.
The highlights of the weekend included the ‘Jack McArdle Lecture’ by Canon Luiz Ruscillo – The Provincial Chaplain for Province 6 Cumbria, a Gala dinner on Saturday evening, attended by Archbishop Malcolm McMahon and the installation of the new Supreme Directors.
The meeting was supported by Knights from our province who served as stewards during the weekend to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the event. A big thank you to all of those who volunteered.
The Council Meeting Chamber The Top Table at The Gala Dinner
The Alma Mater Fund
Another highlight of the Supreme Council Meeting was the announcement of The Alma Mater Fund as our Action Project for 2025.
The Alma Mater Fund provides financial grants and other support to pregnant university students in the United Kingdom to support them in pursuing their academic and personal goals. An initiative of SPUC Scotland, a registered charity SC05056. Further details and updates in the coming months.
RIP Fr Dunstan Harrington
As I am writing this update, have been told the very sad news - that our Provincial Chaplain, Fr Dunstan Harrington, has died. Fr Dunstan was a popular and well-respected Parish priest in Thornton and Crosby. Please pray for the repose of Fr Dunstan’s soul and remember his family, friends, and parishioners as they mourn their loss. Eternal rest grant unto Fr Dunstan, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
I hope you have found this information interesting, if you are interested in finding out more about The Knights of St Columba or arranging a visit to your local council meeting, then please don’t hesitate to contact me by email. Philonline2@btinternet.com
To find out more about the KSC or arrange a visit to your local council meeting, please contact Philonline2@btinternet.com Phil Woods, Provincial Publicity Officer
Dialogue and Unity Unity in Joy and in Sorrow - Remembrance in Prescot
By Ultan Russell, Archdiocesan Ecumenical Officer
Merseyside is greatly blessed with some outstanding and long-standing partnerships – the Church Leaders’ Meeting of Churches Together in the Merseyside Region, Our Joint Anglican Catholic Schools, the beacon partnership between our two Cathedrals, and a rainbow of local partnerships.
One long-standing inter-church partnership is in Prescot, going back to the days of Canon Taylor at the Parish Church and Monsignor Dennick at Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph (the churches are adjacent in the old town centre). In 1995, when Mgr Dennick was undertaking a major refurbishment of Our Lady’s, they were invited to celebrate Mass in the Parish Church – an act of ecumenical generosity still remembered today. This has included vibrant partnerships with the other sister churches –Salvation Army and Methodist. There is a litany of shared events and a vibrant partnership between all the Ministers (more on that next month!) But Now we look at Remembrance.
Remembrance Sunday is a service for the Knowsley Borough and takes place at the Cenotaph behind the Parish church. The Main dignitary is the Mayor of Knowsley, and it is always wellattended by around 400 people. Members of both congregations attend and take part in reading the ‘They Will Not Grow Old’ poem. The Prescot Memorial was confirmed by the Imperial War Museum in 2016 to be the first memorial built for those who died in World War in Britain.
The Remembrance Day service is held at the BICC War Memorial in Prescot Cemetery and is more focussed on Prescot Town. The Main dignitary is the Mayor of Prescot. This is a smaller gathering but is always attended by the local primary schools, Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School and St Mary & St Paul CofE School lay wreaths at the memorial. Again, members from both churches come together for this.
Dominic Risley, Parish Priest of Our Lady
and St Joseph, commented: “The remembrance services are always important moments in the year, where we come together, not just to look to the present or future, but to remember the past. The services remind us that the community that we are part of also includes those who have died in war, and the differences in belief are transcended by shared faith in Christ. “
Revd Kimberley Mannings, the Vicar of Prescot, echoed these remarks: “As the Civic Church, it is always an honour to lead the act of Remembrance for the borough and for the town, and to be joined by our brothers and sisters from Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph. It matters - standing on those steps in unity and solidarity as faith leaders, giving honour to those who have sacrificed their lives and commending them to God’s keeping. We’re united in following the way of the God-incarnate who sacrificed everything for His children and, for any difference that may exist between our church’s theologies, this remains at the forefront never more than on these occasions.”
Here is a prayer that is part of both service every year: Ever living God, we remember those whom you have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of your presence; may that same peace calm our fears, bring justice to all peoples a and establish harmony among nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Fr
Immaculate
A Reflection on the Nugent Gala: Celebrating Memories and Making a Difference
Normandie Wragg Chief Executive Nugent
The annual Nugent Gala at the Titanic Hotel Liverpool was truly a night to remember, raising an outstanding £92,320.00 to support the Memorable Experiences theme of our Our Future Now initiative. This year, the theme was Making Memories, highlighting the vital role of positive experiences in shaping lives and breaking the cycle of adversity.
Supported by our headline sponsors, Krol Corlett and Butterworth Spengler, over 350 guests gathered for an evening filled with joy, purpose, and connection. The elegant atmosphere, enhanced by incredible live performances from the Andrew Curphey Theatre Company, soulful band Deja Soul, powerhouse vocalist Aimee Claire, and crowd-favourite DJ Dave Seed, set the stage for a meaningful celebration of shared memories.
More than just a glamorous evening, the Gala reminded us of why we came together. The funds raised will ensure that those in our community facing significant challenges will have the chance to create lasting, joyful memories. From holidays and educational trips to inclusive leisure activities, these experiences are powerful tools for fostering hope and resilience.
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made the night possible—our sponsors, performers, donors, and guests. Your incredible generosity and commitment to our mission ensure that more individuals and families across the Liverpool City Region can access the opportunities they deserve to make memories of their own.
Let us continue to work together, inspired by the belief that every life is enriched by the power of memorable experiences.
With heartfelt thanks, Jo Henney
Chief Executive Officer, Nugent
O God of Hope,
As we journey through this holy season of Advent, we lift our hearts in anticipation and longing, trusting that you are with us in every moment. Grant us the courage to dream, to envision a world filled with peace, joy, and love. In this season of waiting, let our hopes rise like the stars that herald the coming of Christ, bringing light to our lives and the world. As we prepare for the birth of the Saviour, we pray that our hearts would be open, our spirits eager, and our actions filled with compassion. Guide our steps as we walk toward the Christ child, carrying with us the hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. In this sacred season of Advent, may we find joy in the waiting, and strength in the promise of Christ’s coming, knowing that he is the fulfilment of all our dreams. Amen.
From everyone at St John Bosco Arts College, may your Christmas be full of Faith, Hope and Love.
