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On June 29, 2025, St. Michael's Church joyfully commemorated its 102nd anniversary, while the church hall celebrated its 100th anniversary. The special occasion began with a heartfelt Holy Mass, followed by a lively BBQ that brought the community together. The celebration was a beautiful reflection of the parish's enduring faith and commitment to community. The Holy Mass was a poignant reminder of the Church's rich history and the many blessings it has received. The BBQ that followed was a wonderful opportunity for fellowship and gratitude, with parishioners, friends, and family coming together to share in the joy of the occasion. This dual celebration marked a significant milestone in the life of St. Michael's Church, highlighting its dedication to faith, community, and service. The event was a testament to the power of community and the importance of coming together to give thanks and celebrate. Sincere appreciation to everyone who committed their efforts with love to make the Centenary Barbecue a tremendous success! God Bless Everyone.
Miracle Okwulehie's Lourdes experience: A reflection of Gratitude
I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported, donated, and prayed for us during our fundraising for the Lourdes pilgrimage. Your generosity made it possible for me to take part in this beautiful journey, and I will always be grateful. Going to Lourdes was an experience I’ll never forget. It opened my eyes and heart in a completely new way. Being there gave me the chance to reflect deeply on my faith and to grow in my relationship with God. I learned that helping others doesn’t always mean doing something big sometimes, simply being present and kind can make all the difference. One of the most special parts of the trip for me was spending time with the pilgrims and seeing their strength and faith, even in the face of challenges. It reminded me how important it is to be patient, compassionate, and grateful in everyday life. I also felt so lucky to be surrounded by people who shared the same values and love for God. This pilgrimage helped me realise how much of a difference a community can make, and I feel incredibly blessed to be part of one that is so caring and supportive. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity, it truly touched my heart and has changed how I see the world and how I want to live my faith. * Miracle Okwulehie Gloria Mensio's Jouney to Lourdes - Personal journey of gratitude I sincerely want to thank all those that bought and donated during mine and miracle's fundraiser. Thanks to you we were able to assist the pilgrims and go on the pilgrimage ourselves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The pilgrimage definitely changed the way i see people- even if they look like they need help, it doesn't mean they want it or actually need it, so the most important thing is to not be invasive and respect them at all times. It 100% made my belief stronger, and allowed me to strengthen my bond with God and increased my faith that everything is possible through God that guides us. The most memorable moment was lighting my candle and putting it in the chapel of lights. Despite looking like the least entertaining or fun thing you can do, it made me extremely emotional and made me truly understand how lucky i am to be born with my family, at this time, to have met the people i encountered throughout my life and to be able to participate in assisting the pilgrims. Once again thank you so much for helping me reach the fund needed to go to such an important experience that truly left a mark in how i act today towards everyone. * Gloria Mensio
Pope Leo has declared that the canonization of the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, Carlo Acutis, is scheduled for September 7, 2025. This announcement was made on Friday, June 13, 2025. Acutis, an Italian born in Britain, passed away from leukemia in 2006 at the young age of 15. He was initially slated to be canonized on April 27; however, the event was postponed following the death of Pope Francis. Blessed Carlo Acutis, intercede for us.
 A link has been created for you to sign the petition against the Assisted Dying Bill if you haven't done so yet, please click on this link to sign righttolife.org.uk/asvote
And also, for more information please refer the website www.cbcew.org.uk  Pope Leo XIV has called a Consistory of Cardinals for June 13th. On this day they will decide the new date for the canonisation of Carlo. At the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Birmingham last Wednesday, the canonical permission was given for our parish name to be changed to St Carlo, Wolverhampton. Let’s pray cardinals choose a date that is very soon so that we can reorganise our celebrations!
 OUR SHRINE FOR SAINT CARLO is nearly finished. All we are waiting for now is the red carpet to be delivered that will go under the altar. The shrine is the result of months of hard work from local artisans, and it is wonderful that they all live in our parish! Many thanks to Peter Pennington, Barry Owen, Daryl Hill, and two other parishioners who have crafted the shrine so beautifully. The altar cloth is made of very precious material and if we had ordered it to be made by an ecclesiastical fabric company, it would have literally cost us thousands!
It has been designed to represent our three church communities and to show Saint Carlo’s great love for the Eucharist and for the two great saints of Assisi. He loved Assisi so much that he asked to be buried there and now his tomb is in the Church of the Renunciation, halfway between the churches of St Francis and St Clare. Let us pray that when pilgrims come to pray at our shine they will also be led to devotion of St Francis and St Clare, so that all three saints will accompany them through life. On May 18, 2025, at 3 p.m., the Clergy, Religious, and Parishioners of the Parish of Blessed Carlo Acutis gathered at St. Benedict Biscop's Anglican church to commence the Rosary Procession in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The service began with a short introductory prayer, followed by a scripture reading and reflection. The procession then moved through the surrounding streets, with the flower crown, crucifix, and altar servers leading the way. Together, the assembled sang hymns to the Virgin Mary, meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary and praying for the intentions of Pope Leo XVI and for world peace. The procession concluded near the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary at St. Bernadette's Church in Wombourne, where all in attendance paid beautiful homage to the Blessed Mother by offering flower petals and a flower crown.  The Conclave of Cardinals has chosen Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope who has taken the name as pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Robert Prevost was born on September 14th, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he served as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013, he returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and made him a cardinal the same year. As a cardinal, he emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected pope on May 8, 2025, the second day of the conclave, on the fourth ballot. White smoke appeared from the Sistine Chapel at 18:07 , signifying to the public that a pope had been chosen. A citizen of the United States by birth, Leo XIV is the first pope to have been born in North America, the first to hold Peruvian citizenship (having been naturalized in 2015), the second pope from the Americas (after his predecessor Francis), and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine. His papal name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution. Leo XIV believes the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, poses "new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice, and labour".  Pope Francis served as the 265th successor of St Peter from his election on 13 March 2013 to 21 April 2025.At 9:45am, Rome time, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta with these words: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and Archbishop of Westminster, said: “The death of Pope Francis brings great sadness to so many around the world, both within the Catholic Church and in societies in general. A voice proclaiming the innate dignity of every human being, especially those who are poor or marginalised, is now silent. The legacy he leaves is one we must seek to carry forward and strengthen. Pope Francis was called to priesthood through his experience of the mercy and compassion of God. This remained the core of his ministry, as Priest, Bishop and Pontiff. Only in understanding the love and mercy of God towards each one of us can we fashion societies and communities that bear the mark of the ‘kingdom of God’. This same focus and emphasis lay at this desire to see membership of the Church as being rooted in ‘missionary discipleship’, a dynamic and powerful vision for every Christian and every community. “Now we pray for the repose of his soul, that he may know, in full measure, the merciful and loving embrace of the Father, of the one God to whom he gave his life in unstinting service. “May he now rest in peace and rise in glory.” Shrine Fund
The aims of the Shrine Fund of the Parish of Blessed Carlo Acutis, Wolverhampton are:
Our shrine will be a place of pilgrimage for people from the UK and around the world to venerate Carlo’s relic, be inspired by his life and works and to make devotions. Children and young people will be invited to visit the shrine on Tuesdays and Thursdays to learn from this amazing role model. Visitors will be able to book a visit on Saturday mornings. Brief information about Carlo Acutis Carlo was a computer wizard, loved computer games and football, as well as making films. In his short life he made many friends. He was renowned for his charity work and his constant pursuit of holiness. He taught catechism classes, assisted the poor and served in soup kitchens. Carlo attended daily Mass and frequently Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Word of God and the Holy Eucharist were the centre of his life. Carlo was inspired to tell the story of Eucharistic miracles and encouraged others across the globe to be devoted to Christ via a website he designed: http://www.carloacutis.com Diagnosed with untreatable leukaemia aged just 15, Carlo died shortly after on 12th October 2015. His tomb is in Santa Maria Maggiore, Assisi. He was designated Venerable in 2018, became Blessed on the 12th October 2020 and will be declared a saint on the 27th April 2025. Charity Number 234216 Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to decorate our churches for Christmas, to our musicians, servers and readers. We were greatly blessed in our celebrations this year! See all our churches beautifully decorated below.    Due to unforeseen circumstances, this essential talk on Assisted suicide has had to be changed form Monday to WEDNESDAY 6th November. Please remember you can watch it on zoom if you cannot make it to St Joseph's.  If you are able, please make an effort to attend this talk at St Joseph's. It is extremely important as Catholics that we understand what is at stake if the law on Assisted Suicide is changed in our country. If you cannot get to St Joseph's you can watch by zoom by following the instructions below.  There is also the excellent Pastoral Letter written on this subject by the Cardinal last weekend. Please click the following link to read it. Pastoral Letter by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
 Next weekend we are celebrating the Solemnity of Blessed Carlo Acutis. The Feast day is on Saturday, but as he is our patron we can transfer this to Sunday 13th October and celebrate it as a Solemnity. This year the relic will be available at each of the Sunday Masses but also at the SVP Mass for the sick on Saturday 12th at St Michael's Church.
In preparation for the feast we are starting our Novena today on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. Click here for a copy of the Novena. SPECIAL SESSION FOR ALL EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION This will take place on Friday 27th September at 6.30pm in ST Michael’s Hall. It will be followed by a reception with refreshments.
FAMILY & FRIENDS SKITTLES NIGHT (Indoor bowling). FREE Entry. Saturday 21st September at 7pm in St Michael's Church Hall. Raffle and refreshments available. BYO drinks and nibbles if you wish. Proceeds to Good Shepherd Ministry. Further details from Sarah: 07948 963325 Email: [email protected] MACMILLAN AFTERNOON TEA & CRAFT FAYRE Saturday 28th September, 2pm-4.30pm in St Michael's Church Hall. Free entry. Delicious home-made cakes, scones and sandwiches. Tea & coffee brought to your table. Donations via cash or BACS transfer on the day. Bring friends and loved ones. We appreciate donations of cakes and bakes for the afternoon tea, please. Further details and to pledge items, contact Sarah: 07948 963325 Email: [email protected] CHARITY REMEMBRANCE CONCERT - West Midlands Concert Band. Saturday 9th November at 7pm in St Michael's Church Hall. Tickets just £8. Bookings will open soon, so save the date. Brought to you by Catholic Women's League. CHRISTMAS PLANNING: if you will be wanting a Nativity Scene this Christmas, please see the catalogue at St Michael's Piety Stall this July. Dozens of styles and sizes are available, and orders are placed this summer. (The main Christmas plus Confirmation order will be made next week so will be a large one. I am reluctant to be speculative when the costs of items such as crib figures have risen markedly.)  Pope Francis has recognized a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, paving the way for him to become the first millennial saint. In a decree on May 23, Pope Francis approved the miraculous healing of Valeria Valverde from Costa Rica who had a serious accident on her bicycle while studying in Florence in 2022. Her head was seriously injured and she underwent an emergency operation reduce the pressure on her brain. Her family were told that she could die at any moment, so her mother went to Assisi to pray for healing at the tomb of Blessed Carlo Acutis. On the very same day, Valeria began to breathe on her own and then began to recover the use of her upper limbs and speech. 10 days later she was discharged from intensive care and to the surprise of her doctors, tests showed that the damage from the haemorrhage in her brain had completely disappeared. Contrary to all expectations she only spent one week doing physio and two months later she went on pilgrimage to Carlo Acutis’ tomb in Assisi to celebrate her complete healing.
His canonisation will probably take place during the Jubilee year in 2025. Once we know the date we will be making suitable preparations for celebrations in our parish!  On Sunday afternoon February 18th, all those who have been on our Journey in Faith programme since last September attended the Rite of Election at St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham. This is the formal ceremony where the Archbishop welcomes them into the life of the diocese and they begin their final preparations before being baptised or received into the church during Eastertide this year. Please keep our catechumens and candidates in your prayers during lent as they get ready to receive the sacraments.
In February, the Dudley and Wolverhampton Deanery will be hosting a series of vocation events, “Listening to God’s Call”
There will be three online sessions on Tuesday evenings at 7pm: 20th Feb: Consecrated Life, 27th Feb: Marriage and Single Life. 5th March: Priesthood and Diaconate, Everyone is welcome to join the sessions. The Zoom link is https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88033199202?pwd=Bkfm1pgM2iXaYczxemTzmzdH7lJSId.1 Meeting ID: 880 3319 9202, Passcode: 218505 These meeting s will be recorded and will be available on YouTube afterwards. THERE WILL ALSO BE TWO SPECIAL MASSES FOR VOCATIONS, after which there will be an opportunity to meet some of the speakers: Wednesday 7th February at 2pm at St Michael’s, Coalway Road, Wolverhampton, Thursday 22nd February at 5pm at St Joseph’s, Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton. For more information, please contact: [email protected] WHATSAPP PRAYER GROUP FOR VOCATIONS The Dudley and Wolverhampton Deanery Vocations Group have set up a WhatsApp Prayer Group with the aim of forming a ‘prayer bank’ for Vocations month in February. We started with a target of 1000 Hail Marys collectively, which we have achieved. If you are interested in joining the prayer bank to offer prayers for vocations, then please email: [email protected] with your name and mobile number and ask to be added to the WhatsApp Prayer Group. Please note that for safeguarding purposes, participants must be aged 18 years and over.  This Advent we begin a year of preparation for the Holy Year in 2025. The Holy Father has asked us to make PRAYER the focus of our preparation. Advent often gets lost in the preparations for Christmas, so to help us focus more on prayer we are encouraging the following initiatives:
 The First Session of the Synod in Rome has come to an end. A Letter to the People of God and a Synthesis Report have been produced by the Assembly and can be accessed on our Synod page. Another meeting in Rome will take place in October 2024.
With synod discussions continuing in Rome this month, it may be of interest to check out the 'Synod Page' on our website. You will find the responses we collected at parish level as well documents produced by the Diocesan, Continental and Universal stages. The working document that is being used in Rome, called the Instrumentum Laboris, is available to read. Links to an interesting podcast series by Christopher Lamb can also be accessed. Three young people from our parish (Ann, Tobi and Patrick) together with Fr. Sean from August 1-6 2023, were at the World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. Together with other young people from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, they joined over a million young Catholics across the globe to celebrate the Catholic faith. They share their amazing experience including Mass with Pope Francis, after several efforts and fundraising to make their participation a reality. |
