DIARY DATES (other news is given beneath the diary dates)
Saturday 7th March: CAFOD Big Lent Walk, meeting at 12 noon, car park of Our Lady of Lourdes, Ashby de la Zouch, Station Road, LE65 2GL. All are welcome!
The Celebrate Trust has produced two resources for families in Lent: a Family Activity Pack for Lent and a Journey to Easter Joy game. Visit www.celebratetrust.org/shop/lent-family-pack-celebratehome-s45pm and www.celebratetrust.org/shop/lent-game-celebratehome-s45pm-39gpj to download them, and (if you can) to support Celebrate too.
The Seven Last Words of Jesus: All are welcome to join Father Jonathan Cotton in a reflection through slides, music, and prayers of The Seven Last Words of Jesus on Tuesday 24th March in Saint Wilfrid’s Church, Coalville LE67 3JB, and on Thursday 26th March in Sacred Heart Church, Loughborough LE11 2HE. Both evenings begin at 7.00pm, and conclude at 8.30pm with refreshments.
Young Adults are especially invited to join Bishop Patrick, in the Nottingham Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage 2026. Departing from East Midlands airport on Monday 13th July, enjoy five days in Lourdes with over 200 people from across our diocese. Help in caring for those with additional needs! Mary invites us all to come to this holy place. More details from the tour operator: https://www.tangney-tours.com/diocese-pilgrimages/diocese-nottingham/
Sycamore’s ‘Learning to Pray this Lent': Join Young Adults from across the diocese of Nottingham to enter more deeply into prayer this Lent with Sycamore’s ‘Learning to Pray this Lent’. Just bring yourself, a bible, and a hot drink of your choice (unless you’re fasting!). With lots of practical tips, wisdom from the bible, stories from the saints, and advice about common difficulties people face when praying. To sign up head to: www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/events/yasycamore
40 days for life is a global movement, which seeks to end abortion through prayer, peaceful outreach and public witness. Each year during Lent a group of Christians take our belief in the sanctity of life out to the public space and offer a life-giving alternative to the sadness of abortion. Our witness is legal, peaceful, compassionate and non-judgemental. If you would like to know more, please contact John by email on pro-life@dioceseofnottingham.uk or go to 40daysforlife.com/nottingham. 'For whenever you did this to the least of my little ones, you did it to me.'
Diocesan Choir: Anyone wishing to sing as part of the Diocesan Choir (in particular for this year's Chrism Mass on Wednesday 1st April), please fill in the online form at bit.ly/diocesanchoir
A Pro-Life Renewal Day is being held on Saturday 14th February, from 10.00am until 4.00pm, at Good Shepherd Church, Arnold, and led by Father Bernard Murphy CFR. All are welcome to this day of spiritual renewal, focussed on prayer for the sanctity of life at all stages. How do we as Christians keep fighting for the dignity of life, when so many around us do not value it? Father Bernard will help us renew our motivation by opening scripture and Church teaching. There is no charge for the day (donations welcomed); a light lunch and refreshments are provided. To book a place or for more information contact John: pro-life@dioceseofnottingham.uk
The Diocesan Youth Service NDCYS is taking a group of young people and young adults to Lourdes, France as part of the Diocesan Pilgrimage in July 2026. If you are aged 16+ and unable to go with your school, or a young adult who would like to be a small group leader, we encourage you to download the information pack and apply at ndcys.com/lourdes
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Aid to the Church in Need: According to Aid to the Church in Need 5.4 billion people (2/3 of the world's population) live in countries where individuals and entire communities suffer violations of religious freedom. More than 220 million Christians are at direct risk of persecution. In response, ACN has initiated a petition calling on governments around the world to implement in full Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the gold standard of religious liberty - the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right to change religion and the right to manifest religion in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Parishioners are invited to stand with persecuted Christians and all those who suffer for their beliefs by signing the ACN Article 18 petition, by visiting: https://acnuk.org/article-18-petition-religious-freedom-human-right-not-privilege. Please continue to pray for all those who suffer for their faith.
Holy Places in Palestine: Father Michael O’Kane OFM, of the Commissariat of the Holy Land, has written to thank Bishop Patrick for the generosity of parishioners earlier this year when the Collection for the Holy Places in the Holy Land was taken on Good Friday. Across the Diocese more than £20,000 was given to support the Christian communities in this war-torn part of the world, where Jesus himself lived and ministered. The Franciscans keep our Diocese, and all the parishioners, in their thankful prayers.
CAFOD: CAFOD World Gifts: gifts that give back, gifts for everyone and supporting your global family, please visit: www.worldgifts.cafod.org.uk
Peter’s Pence collection: Bishop Patrick has received a letter from Monsignor Ante Vidovic, Charge d'Affaires at the Apostolic Nunciature, thanking our Diocese for the contributions to the 2025 Peter’s Pence collection, which amounted to £9,705.47. The Holy Father very much appreciates the generosity of parishioners throughout the Diocese of Nottingham, whose donations will help to fund and support the charitable activities of the Holy See.
Stand up for religious freedom! Consider signing Aid to the Church in Needs’ global petition supporting persecuted Christians. Your voice matters. By signing this petition, you can help us urge world leaders to act on behalf of those who suffer simply for practicing their faith.
acnuk.org/article-18-petition-religious-freedom-human-right-not-privilege
CAFOD: Thank you for supporting CAFOD’s Family Fast Day. Thank you so much for your generous contributions to CAFOD’s Family Fast Day Appeal. Your donations in our parish collection and online are helping families like Ware’s in Ethiopia. Thank you for all your support for CAFOD.
Marriage Care: Are you interested in training and volunteering as a Relationship Counsellor with Marriage Care? This Catholic organisation specialises in relationship support and is currently looking for those who would be interested in training via the Certificate in Relationship Counselling (CRC) course, and looking for volunteers for the marriage preparation service prior to the CRC selection. To find out more visit: www.marriagecare.org.uk or email: volunteer@marriagecare.org.uk
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales and Birmingham Newman University are conducting research into Neurodiversity and our Faith. If you are an adult neurodivergent Catholic or a Caregiver of a neurodivergent Catholic, we want to hear from you. Your experiences will help us to become more inclusive and responsive to your needs. To find out more and to fill in our short surveys look here: www.godwhospeaks.uk/neurodivergent-catholic-surveys/
Bishop Patrick has received a letter from Friends of the Holy Land, thanking parishioners for their generous donations through the Crib Offerings 2024.
Friends of the Holy Land letter
Assisted Suicide: Whilst praying that assisted suicide doesn’t become law, as an expression of practical support parishioners in our diocese last autumn raised over £10,000 through second collections to support the work of the 18 hospices across our diocese. These institutions provide superb care for those coming towards the end of life, and help families to accompany their loved ones at such a difficult time. By supporting hospices in this way, as Catholics we are putting into practical action our prayers for a respect and a dignity of life, from conception to natural death.
The Ascent is coming to the Nottingham Diocese - theASCENT is a three year discipleship process for Catholic young people in years 10-12 who want to embrace their faith in Jesus Christ at a whole new level and learn how to share it with others. At their heart they seek to disciple the few for the sake of the many so that the Gospel may reach the ends of the earth. Bookings are open now, visit www.theascentuk.co.uk/
Nottingham Cathedral has received a £1.69M grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore the breathtaking original vision of architect A W N Pugin. Restoring Pugin will revive the Cathedral’s east end, and open up this heritage gem to over 20,000 people across our Cathedral city, and diocese. New tech, community activities, educational programmes, and even a video game (!) are all on the way. Read more on the diocesan website (www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/news) and watch the announcement video on YouTube (www.youtube.com/@NottsDiocese). Please share this great news widely!
Sad news from The Briars: It is with sadness we heard about the passing of John Morgan who served as the Security Guard & Groundsman at The Briars for over 30 years. John, or 'Morgsy' as he was affectionately known, was a constant presence of warmth and welcome for the thousands of young people and staff who visited during this time. He had a way of making everyone feel at home, with a smile, or a story. He was an inspiration for generations of Briars teams and young people. In 2010, John was awarded the Benemerenti medal for services to the Church and is without doubt The Briars’ greatest servant. He will be dearly missed. If anyone would like more details of the plans to celebrate John's life, please contact Hannah Leech - hannah.leech@ololcatholicmat.co.uk
Young Adult Formation Course: If you would like to deepen your faith, grow in community with other 18-35 years olds as well as engage more fully in your parish then the brand-new Young Adult Formation Course run by the Diocese of Nottingham is the course for you. For more information contact charles.archer@dioceseofnottingham.uk or sign up at: https://forms.office.com/e/9qvH5SjRHh
ACN (UK) has launched an Open Letter Campaign calling on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to make persecuted religious communities priority recipients of UK Overseas Development Aid (ODA). They need your help to reach their goal of 10,000 signatures, which will trigger a response from the Government. Please sign their open letter today: https://acnuk.org/our-campaigns/red-wednesday-advocacy-letter. Together, we can help Christians and other religious minorities trapped in modern slavery, extreme poverty and worse.
Caritas Leicester and Leicestershire Advent Calendar: in this Advent season, we are amplifying the reach of some local charities which aim to bring light into darkness. There are, of course, many others. Please have a look and join us in raising hopeful voices. The colour version is at: https://bit.ly/3ZmMGuI, and the black and white version is at: https://bit.ly/40UwnGw
Catechist Formation Pathways – Are you a catechist? Have you thought about being one? The Diocese offers three courses that can be done together or stand alone. Encounter Catechesis provides the foundations of catechesis; Discipleship Catechesis explores a good knowledge of key points of Catholic Theology; and Missionary Catechesis is focused on going beyond sacramental preparation to help form disciples of all ages. To enquire please follow this link bit.ly/formation2425 or email: formation@dioceseofnottingham.uk
World Day of Migrants and Refugees: The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees since 1914. It’s always an occasion to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers. The theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees is: God walks with His people. The Holy Father reminds us that all of us, God’s people, are migrants on this earth, on our way to the “true homeland”, the Kingdom of Heaven. Migrants are a contemporary icon of this people on a journey, of the Church on a journey, and at the same time, it is in them and in all our vulnerable brothers and sisters that we can encounter the Lord who walks with us.