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The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Bishop David was delighted to be invited to participate in the Annual Mass of the Eastern Section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Lieutenancy of England and Wales. The Mass was celebrated in The Lady Chapel of the Cathedral Church of The Holy and Undivided Trinity, Ely, Cambridgeshire on the Feast Day of St Augustine of Canterbury on Saturday 27th May 2023....
LOUDFENCE – Beaconsfield
Bishop David Oakley will preside at the opening service of LOUDFENCE, Beaconsfield. LOUDFENCE represents the voices of those who wish to express support for those who have been subjected to injury by abuse and for those who are dealing with the consequences for themselves and others. LOUDFENCE will be in Beaconsfield from Wednesday 17th May – Friday 19th May. The opening service will take place...
Bishop David Announces Clergy Moves
Bishop David has announced the following clergy moves: After twelve years, Canon Mark Floody will step down as Cathedral Dean and Fr Simon Penhalagan is appointed Cathedral Dean. Fr Daniel Rooke is appointed assistant Priest at the Cathedral. Canon Michael Harrison VG is appointed Parish Priest of St Martin de Porres, Luton. Fr Christopher Perry is appointed Parish Priest of Our Lady of...
Bishop David Preaches At Choral Evensong
On Sunday 30th April, Bishop David joined other faith leaders at All Saints Church in Northampton for Choral Evensong to celebrate the coronation. The acting Bishop of Peterborough delivered the blessing, whilst Bishop David preached. Bishop David preached the following homily: The Christian Faith takes the long-view about things. Most of us are able to know something of our past family story....
Bishop Introduces Fr Rob!
New Apostolic Nuncio To Great Britain
The Vatican have announced the appointment of a new Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. Announcing the news on their website the Catholic Bishop's Conference of England and Wales said, Pope Francis has appointed His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía as Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain. Commenting on the news, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the...
“The resurrection is not a myth!”
Bishop David celebrated the Easter Vigil at Northampton Cathedral on Saturday evening. To a packed church he delivered the following homily. So how was Lent for you? Was it just me, or did Lent seem to fly by this year? Did it leave us feeling a little guilty, we should have made more of these weeks? The forty days of Lent remind us of many biblical times, the forty days Jesus spent in the...
Bishop David’s Homily on Good Friday
Bishop David shared this homily at the Celebration of the Passion of our Lord. At the beginning of Lent, our faces were marked with a cross of ash. We may have heard these words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Startling words in a world which exalts the assumption of human power and seeks to hide from the fragility of life. But why do we receive the ashes? This...
A Missionary In Bedford!
Bishop David Oakley shared the story of Fr John Priestly Warmoll during his homily at the Chrism Mass on Thursday 6th April. "It is always encouraging for me to come across accounts of good priests. During a recent pastoral visitation to Bedford, Canon Seamus introduced me to a little book about the first priest there in modern times. He was Fr John Priestley Warmoll and later became the Provost...
Rise Up!
8,000 young people, youth leaders, religious brothers and sisters, priests, bishops and cardinals gathered at the Ovo Arena in Wembley on Saturday 4th March for the latest Flame Congress. Flame began in 2012, to mark the London Olympics and organised by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, of which our diocese is a member. The day began with a tribute to Fr Dermott Donnelly, a priest from the...
Sixty Second Lent
As we approach Lent this year, you may be asked to explain your faith to people who do not know why you have ashes on your forehead or why you have suddenly stopped eating fast food. Sixty Second Lent is a new fast paced video series from the diocese of Northampton answering your questions in sixty seconds. Fr Brendan Seery, our diocesan chancellor and parish priest of Our Lady Help of...
Catholic Union leads discussion on Church’s Synod
The Catholic Union hosted an online discussion on the Church’s Synod on Synodality last week, with an expert panel of speakers Well over 100 people attended the event on Thursday 9 February, which was the Catholic Union’s first webinar of 2023. The discussion was hosted on Zoom, giving Catholic Union members and supporters across the country the opportunity to take part. The speakers for the...
Diocese To Divest From Fossil Fuel Investments
The Northampton Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustee have announced plans to divest from investments relating to fossil fuel, continuing their commitment to ethical investments. The policy will commence by 31st March 2023. The statement from the trustee said, “The Diocese of Northampton prohibits direct investment in any company, regardless of the sector, which generates more than 10% of its...
MISSION EXPERT TO SPEAK AT ADORE RETREAT MORNING
Michelle Moran, the leader and co-founder of Sion Community for Evangelism, will be the guest speker at this month's "ADoRE" mini-retreat morning for spiritual renewal. This is the latest part of the Zoom course to inspire Parish Evangelisation: "Proclaim the Good News - we are called to be Missionary Disciples" which is running until November, usually on the fourth Saturday of each month. This...
Not Perfect But Chosen
Young people from across the diocese of Northampton joined NYMO, our diocesan youth ministry team at the weekend for the latest in the series of the LUX residential weekends. This year the group focussed on the theme of 'Flawless', a theme derived from the synod feedback from young people and they had time to reflect on being chosen but not perfect. They were encouraged to consider what being...
24 Hours For The Lord
In 2014, Pope Francis initiated a worldwide prayer initiative for Catholic, 24 hours for the Lord. The theme for this year is ‘Be merciful to me a sinner’ (Luke 18:13). Over the days Friday 17th March and Saturday 18th March each pastoral area has been encouraged to offer the faithful an opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation within the context of eucharistic Adoration. Each year during...