Preface & Editorial

From Bishop Patrick

Bishop’s House, Nottingham Solemnity of the Annunciation, 25th March 2022

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we begin to emerge from the difficulties of the pandemic, we know it remains a very challenging time for so many people across our diocese, and beyond, struggling to cope with the harsh new economic realities. We are also deeply conscious of the effects upon the people of Ukraine of Russia’s invasion and the destruction of so many of their cities. We hold them all in our thoughts and prayers, and may we continue to do what we can to offer support and practical help to the many millions of Ukrainians forced to leave their homes and livelihoods.

This year’s jubilee edition of our diocesan yearbook showcases so much of what has been happening across our diocese during the pandemic, as well as reflecting upon the past century since the first yearbook was published in 1921. So much has changed in the diocese over the past one hundred years. I thank Fr Simon Gillespie for his good work as editor. The front cover gives a snapshot of some of the highlights celebrated by our parishes and Church during that period. Much too has changed in the diocese over the last few years, and not all of it caused by Covid, as we try to acknowledge and respond to falling numbers of both priests and parishioners.

But at the heart of our lives of Christian faith we recognise something which is unchanging: the wonderful reality of God’s steadfast love for each one of us. It is this personal encounter with God’s love which inspires everything that we continue to do in our parishes, schools, chaplaincies and diocese, and in our daily lives as members of our local communities. We know that we are blessed to have received the gift of faith, and that we are challenged not to keep this faith to ourselves but to become the missionary disciples Jesus is calling us to be. It is for this reason that Pope Francis has invited us into the Synodal process in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023. He asks us to walk more closely together, to listen attentively to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to dream of how we can become more effective witnesses to Christ in our society and wider world. As a diocese we continue to reorganise ourselves, regrouping into clusters of parishes, and into new larger parishes, so that we can share resources and better equip ourselves to become more and more intentionally outward-facing and missionary.

On a personal note, it’s so good to be out and about again visiting schools, parishes and chaplaincies and witnessing first-hand the many creative and generous ways in which our faith is being put into action across the diocese. I thank God for all that he is doing through your open hearts and lives. Be assured of my prayers for you, and your families; please pray for me that the Lord may enable me to serve you well and generously as your bishop. + Patrick

Bishop of Nottingham

From the Editor

Although in my third year as editor, this is the first time that I’ve have been able to include a good number of articles in the yearbook, alongside the usual factual and statistical information in the directory section. A complicated handover process, together with two years of pandemic, has meant that since the 2019 edition was published by my predecessor there has been a dearth of articles in the second half of the yearbook. I hope this has been remedied somewhat this year, with a good helping of news and stories of life around our diocese. My apologies to those who assiduously wrote for the 2020 edition, and whose articles haven’t yet seen the light of day. Hence there is ’news’ about the canonisation of Saint John Henry Newman, now thirty months old, but which nevertheless needs telling. Alongside this is the latest news from our schools and communities, together with, sadly, the obituaries of a good number of faithful religious and clergy whom we now pray are enjoying their eternal reward. All this, providentially, within the one hundredth edition of the yearbook. To mark the occasion not only does the front cover tell the story of the evolution of this publication since 1921 when the first edition saw the light of day, but a few articles also give a retrospective of something of where we, as a diocese, have come from. I hope it gives both pause for thought, and a little insight into those from whom we have received the faith. Sincere thanks as ever to all those who have given so generously of their time and talents in helping this publication come to fruition. Information is correct as at the solemnity of the Annunciation, 25th March 2022. Whilst care has been taken to correct errors from previous editions, and to incorporate new information, the responsibility for all errors and omissions remains mine. In all this we give thanks to God for his steadfastness in all we seek to do, praying that the missionary work recorded in these pages, and upon which we are embarked, will bear fruit in the next one hundred years. Ad multos annos!

Father Simon Gillespie Editor