MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS:

May I just reinforce my reference above and encourage everyone to read this document.  Fr. Michael Henesy drew the attention of the community to a political podcast with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart waxing eloquent on the subject: rarely can the Church have had such a glowing endorsement from such an entirely independent source.

If you would like to read the encyclical in full - you can find it at Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas (15 May 2026)

 THE CATHOLIC PICTORIAL:

It is remarkable that the Pic as it is affectionately known continues to be so professionally produced as a free magazine by the Archdiocese each month. This month Bishop Eton features twice with a report on our Day in honour of St Gerard Majella and the Blessing in Bishop Eton School of the statue of Our Lady, given by the Sisters of the Cenacle after the recent closure of the Convent. Please take your copy and enjoy all the information about what is happening in the Archdiocese. Those of you who are married may also wish to take note of the advertisement in the Pic and in our bulletin of a ‘Marriage Encounter Weekend’ at the Archdiocesan Centre on the weekend of 27 and 28 June: remember this is Fr Andrew’s special field of interest and concern.

An electronic copy of the pic can be accessed by clicking here.

 CORPUS CHRISTI:

This weekend, with the Feast of Corpus Christi, we have the perfect opportunity to offer thanks to God for the many blessings that have been ours in recent weeks with so many of our children having just received their First Holy Communion and a good number of our young people the Sacrament of Confirmation. An atmosphere of joy radiated through the congregations during the Confirmation ceremonies at Christ the King and St Anthony’s last Wednesday and Thursday and Archbishop John was clearly heartened by the whole experience. The Eucharist is “the source and summit of our Christian lives” and it is what has bound us together as a community from the very beginning.

 As more and more people around the world take note of the importance of Pope Leo’s encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas”, it seems to me to be an opportune moment to remind ourselves that as Christians we can make an enormous difference. Catholics alone make up 1.4 billion of the earth’s population and Christians all together number something between 2.3 and 2.6 billion, which means that we make up well over a quarter of all the people on earth. We are being called to protect the dignity of every human being and pursue the truth, which the Lord said “will set us free”: let’s renew our commitment to do all we can to respond to what is surely a renewed prompting from God’s Holy Spirit.

 CLIMATE CHANGE:

This week, we have had another clear reminder that our world is continuing to change quite dramatically, but I must say I have enjoyed feeling the sun on my back again. I guess the right response is the one that CAFOD keeps encouraging us to follow: namely, that we try to live as simply as possible and use the natural resources of the world as responsibly as we can.

 BISHOP RALPH HESKETT, CSsR:

Many of you know that our great friend, Bishop Ralph, is retiring, but before leaving Sheffield he will have a Mass of Thanksgiving for his Golden Jubilee of Priesthood in the Cathedral in Sheffield at 11.00am on Friday, 10 July. The 10 of July is his day: he was ordained in St Benet’s Sunderland on that day in 1976; he was ordained Bishop in Gibraltar on that day in 2010 and he was installed as Bishop of Hallam on that day in 2014. I have had the privilege of being in attendance on each of these occasions and many of you were in Gibraltar and Sheffield and look forward to being with him this July. Of course, anyone wishing to join us in July will be very welcome.

 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION:

This week, at Christ the King on Wednesday and at St Anthony’s on Thursday, some of our young people will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from Archbishop John, while others have already received the Sacrament at the Cathedral recently. As always, I ask your prayers for them and their families. At a time when there is growing concern about what the future holds for our young people, my prayer is that as a community we will continue to do all we can to enable them to realise the dignity that is theirs as children of God and enable them to use their gifts in the service of the Church and the world.

I still thank God for the initiative from our Awakening Day in 2015 that led to the Junior Justice and Peace Group, the fruits of which are now being shared across the Archdiocese with Sarah McGeehan as the Youth Ministry Coordinator. 

NEW WINDOWS ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE MONASTERY:

Cardinal Michael cheerfully coped with the challenges we have been facing during the past three weeks as we have tried to find somewhere to eat our meals. That said, I must congratulate the team of skilled glaziers and carpenters and all who have organised the highly complicated process of replacing the huge windows in the rooms on the ground floor, including the kitchen and the refectories. The work is almost complete and we are immensely grateful that it has gone without a hitch.

 PRAYING THE OUR FATHER (A book by Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald):

During the week, we had the joy and the privilege of providing accommodation for Cardinal Michael, who is a White Father, and for many years was resident at St Vincent’s in the city. He now lives in London and came to launch his new book on the Our Father at the Pauline Bookshop last Thursday. He will be 89 in August and was grateful for our lift to get him to a bedroom! It was good to catch up with him again. As you may know he is an expert on Christian-Muslim relations and you may remember he visited our Syrian Familysoon after they arrived in this country. He was delighted to hear that they now have citizenship.

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

Understandably, the Church sees today as its Birthday. At last the apostles are liberated; no longer are they constrained by their fears and anxieties. Dare I use the analogy? The jigsaw is coming together and Jesus’ promise that the Spirit will lead them to the truth is being realised. It is taking me a lifetime to see the connections and piece it all together myself, which is why I keep encouraging you to work on the connections in your own lives. For so long the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit were just a list to be remembered, but now I realise the importance of praying for Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding, so that, hopefully, I can make wise Judgements and decisions and have the Courage to try and fulfil them. And then there is more chance that I can keep things in perspective, stand in Awe before the presence of God and have Reverence for others, myself and the whole of God’s creation.

A very happy Birthday to you all.

 PROVINCIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS:

I was in London again this week for a couple of meetings and while we had to deal with a number of challenging issues, we also had the joy of accepting the applications of two young men, who have asked to begin their training for the priesthood and religious life with the Redemptorists. Both are in their twenties, are academically gifted and have spent much time discerning God’s will for them. Please pray for them and us.