Pope Francis

Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord

And let perpetual light shine upon him

May he rest in peace

Amen

Online Book of Condolence
The Archdiocese have an online Book of
Condolence for you to leave a message.
Please use the following link:

https://caspar.church/condolence/index.asp?GroupID=77188

2nd Sunday of Easter 

This Week's Feast Days

Most weeks there may well be a number of feast days. We don’t necessarily celebrate them all. Some saints are more important in certain parts of the country than others and will be celebrated more on a local level, whilst other saints will be celebrated everywhere. So each week we will comment on the feast-days that we should celebrate in our regional Church.

Sunday, April 27th - 2nd Sunday of Easter (C)

Monday, April 28th -   St George, Patron Saint of England

Tuesday, April 29th -   St Catherine of Siena, Virgin, Doctor of the Church, patron of Europe

Wednesday, April 30th -   St Pius V, Pope, Religious

Thursday, May 1st -   St Joseph the Worker

Friday, May 2nd -  St Athanasius, Bishop, Doctor of the Church

Saturday, May 3rd - Ss Philip and James, Apostles

Sunday, May 4th - 3rd Sunday of Easter (C)

Sunday Readings

2nd Sunday of Easter (C)
Divine Mercy Sunday

First Reading – Acts 5:12-16
The numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord steadily increased.

Second Reading – Apoc 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever.

Gospel Reading – John 20:19-31
Eight days later, Jesus came.

Psalter: Easter Week 2

Weekdays:  Easter Week 2

Newsletters

There are four newsletters published weekly in the Leigh area, you can access current and past editions here:

St Edmund Arrowsmith Newsletters (St Joseph's and Sacred Heart, Leigh)

St Margaret Clitherow Newsletters (Holy Family, Boothstown; St Ambrose Barlow, Astley)

St John Rigby Newsletter (Sacred Heart, Hindley Green; St Richard's, Atherton)

St Lewis, St Catherine's & All Saints Newsletters (Croft, Lowton & Golborne) (opens in new window)

( Newsletters download as pdf files in a new window.)

News Bites

• THE POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL 2025:
  

  For the use of the new technologies:
  Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times.

• We keep in prayer- The Cardinals and Bishops of the Church
  Let us pray that the Cardinals and Bishops of the Church may be filled with the Holy Spirit as the quest for the new leader of the Catholic Church begins.

• Divine Mercy Devotion:
  At 2.30pm this afternoon, the church will be open at Holy Family for confessions. At 3.00pm we shall expose the blessed sacrament for One Hour adoration. We shall start with the chaplet of divine mercy. Then private adoration until 3.50pm when we will close with Benediction
• Children's Liturgy - St Ambrose
  The next children's liturgy at St Ambrose Barlow church will take place during the 11:00am mass on Sunday 4th May.
  We desperately need more volunteers to help with this important role. If you feel able to become involved please speak to Fr Francis, Alison Doctor or Karen Standring.
• Parish Administrator at St Edmund Arrowsmith Parish, Leigh
  An opportunity is available for an experienced Parish Administrator (Admin & Finance) to be based within the parish of St Edmund Arrowsmith, working at
  St Joseph’s Presbytery and Sacred Heart Presbytery, Leigh. For more information see St Edmund Arrowsmith Newsletter or contact: www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/careers  Closing date Monday May 5th 2025

  Read more: News Bites

Live Simply / Laudato Si

Reflect:

“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.

This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.

Nothing in this world is indifferent to us

Excerpt from Laudato Si - Published 24 May 2015

Pray:

Today, as pilgrims in search of hope, we cling to you, Risen Jesus. We turn our backs on death and open our hearts to you, for you are Life itself.

Pope Francis, 2020

 Act
Whilst we celebrate the joy of Easter, many are still experiencing the darkness of Good Friday in their lives, through famine, warfare, poverty, injustice and violence. Our belief in the Risen Lord gives us the power to bring joy to others, to bring hope into their world as we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and he walks with us through all our difficulties.
This week find opportunities to offer a little bit of heaven to others by sharing with them our hope for the future and our joy in the Resurrection.

Challenge

In the spirit of Laudato Si:

• Take time to read and consider the words of Laudato Si above.

• Read more: Live Simply / Laudato Si

CAFOD News

CAFOD Myanmar Earthquake Appeal
Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, CAFOD is responding through the Catholic Church there to support families affected by the disaster. Your donations will provide essentials like water, food, solar lights, and mosquito nets. Please give to CAFOD’s Myanmar Earthquake Appeal in church or you can donate online at cafod.org.uk/myanmar or by calling 0303 303 3030. You can also text EARTHQUAKE to 70450 to donate £10

CAFOD's Prayer for Peace in the Middle East (Opens in a new tab.)

Mass Times In The Area

Below are the normal mass times for the churches in the area, but please check the newsletters for any changes which may occur during certain periods, e.g. funerals, holidays, feast days.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Assisted Dying Bill:

Literature cards will be available at the back of Margaret Clitherow churches for anyone wanting to raise their concerns with the government. The cards need to be completed then returned via SPUC who in turn will send them direct to the Prime Minister as a form of lobbying against the proposed Bill.

The important vote for all MPs on the assisted suicide legislation, known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, is likely to take place on 25th April. The charity Right to Life UK has a simple online mechanism to allow people to contact their Member of Parliament and it only takes a few moments to submit a message to ask an MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law. It can be accessed here: 
https://righttolife.org.uk/asvote. (Sample message available)
Also, to let you know, Right to Life and Not Dead Yet UK (template letter available) are distributing postcards to parishes for the lay faithful to send to their MPs on this subject. 
A wide range of further resources on opposing assisted suicide is available here: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/opposing-assisted-suicide/
Written evidence submitted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (TIAB25)

MPs for the area:

Worsley and Eccles: Michael Wheeler - email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Leigh and Atherton: Jo Platt - email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Warrington North: Charlotte Nichols - email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bolton West: Phil Brickell - email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Makerfield: Josh Simmons - email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

or check here: https://members.parliament.uk/

To date, all the above MPs have voted FOR Assisted Suicide

Jubilee Prayer

The official Prayer allows pilgrims from all over the world to use the same words to express 
gratitude to God for the Jubilee experience and request the grace of forgiveness.

Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

Ukraine

Pope Francis
Pope Francis gave us this invitation.... ‘let us persevere in our closeness and in prayer for the dear Ukrainian people who are experiencing immense cruelty’

A Prayer for Ukraine
Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine,
for all those suffering or afraid,
that you will be close to them and protect them.

We pray for world leaders,
for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices.

We pray for the world
that in this moment of crisis,
we may reach out in solidarity
to our brothers and sisters in need.

May we walk in your ways
so that peace and justice
become a reality for the people of Ukraine
and for all the world.

Amen.

(From the CAFOD website. Link opens in new tab.)

Prayer for Peace

World Day of Prayer for Peace.

The theme chosen by Pope Francis this year:
Forgive us our trespasses…grant us your peace
In a world hungry for revenge and where ‘sorry’ really does seem to be the hardest word, Pope Francis has boldly chosen  ‘forgiveness’ as the central theme for World Peace Day 2025. This is in stark contrast to the calls for ‘revenge’ and ‘an eye for an eye’ that are currently played on repeat by our politicians and amplified by the media.
Do we really have the faith to believe that when we choose to forgive then God will grant us peace?
The Pope informs us that it is only from a genuine conversion on all levels - personal, local and international - that true peace will be
able to flourish.

New Archbishop

Bishop John Sherrington has been announced as the new Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

Originally based in the Diocese of Nottingham, he now joins us from the Diocese of Westminster.

Archbishop McMahon tendered his resignation to Pope Francis last year when he reached his 75th birthday.

Read more about the new Archbishop here.  

or here - Archdiocese website

Children's Liturgy

St Richard's  - Children's Liturgy takes place every Sunday at the 9.30am Mass.

Sacred Heart - Children's Liturgy takes place every Sunday at the 11.00am Mass.

St Ambrose Barlow – Is held once a month with a planned celebration on the first Sunday of every month. Next celebration is on Sunday 6th April during the 11:00am mass.

Holy Family – We have a few volunteers but need several more to be able to run a rota in a similar way to St Ambrose. If you would like to volunteer, please speak to either Fr Paul or to Liz in the parish office as soon as possible.

Please note that all volunteers must complete a DBS form with the Archdiocese to comply with safeguarding which is paramount in all parish activities.