Toby Duckworth, who spent a year discerning his vocation at SS Peter and Paul, is to be ordained a Deacon at Palazzola on Sunday 4th July.

You can watch the ordination on YouTube using the button below. The livestream is scheduled to begin at 9:30am.

Apologies for the lack of sound at the Online Mass today. This was due to a technical glitch in the computer. This has now been sorted so it all should be working tomorrow.

The Beatification Mass will be in the Basilica of St Francis this afternoon at 3.30 pm our time (4.30 pm in Italy). You can access this live through the Vatican youtube Channel or EWTN Europe or the Franciscan Channel.

As you will have seen at the top of the Home Page we have had trouble with people receiving emails from me making strange requests about money. Please do not respond to these emails and ring me at once. It is always important to check the actual address from where the email comes. My own email address is now one of the new diocesan addresses, so it ends rcaob.ork.uk. Eventually all the parish email addresses will end in this way. We had to wait for a parish name before we could sign up to the new parish system. As we now have a name for the parish, we will be moving over to new email addresses very soon.

The live-streaming at SS Peter & Paul's is now working. The latest camera is now reliable, in that it always comes on when we switch the system on. (The previous one seemed to have a mind of its own!) The new one does not show the whole of the sanctuary and we will look into improving this eventually. For the moment, however, it is a relief that we have  picture that is reliable. Once again, thanks so much to all the generous people who provided for the live-streaming fund. Your donations were not just towards the camera, but for the computer, all the wiring that connects it back to the house and all the work that was done to ensure a strong enough internet connection to the property.

A primary teacher, children's liturgy catechist and mother of four children from the Dunkeld Diocese has, since the lockdown started, been creating children's liturgy videos so that children can still have access to some form of children's liturgy sessions. The Facebook page she has created to share resources on is called 'Children's Liturgy during Lockdown' and has weekly videos for each Sunday as well as craft ideas for children to have a go at which link to that Sunday's Gospel. The videos are just 10 minutes long, with a children's version of the Gospel, short explanation as well as little song, prayer and something for the children to make to help remind them of each week's Gospel message. She will carry on creating these videos for sometime after the re-opening of churches. YouTube link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtC6kaDVVVg

Now that  I am doing more public masses and funerals, it means that there is not always a Mass available to be heard by telephone. On the days when there is not an online Mass, the  Knights of St Columba have set up a Dial-a-Mass for those who are unable to participate in the celebration of the Mass via TV or Livestreaming.

The Mass will be available on such days from 12 noon each day and will last about 45 minutes, being available until midnight the same day. It will cost as little as a local call and the phone number is: 01642 130120.

Please tell your friends who do not have access to the internet.

Many thanks,
​Fr Mark

In addition to the previously mentioned main programme on all BBC local stations at 8 am on Easter Sunday, when the Cardinal will be leading an Easter Service, he will also be giving the following media interviews:
 
Good Friday

0745 BBC Radio Berkshire

0830 BBC Radio 4 Today Programme

1030 Sky News (TV) – Adam Boulton

Easter Sunday

0710 BBC Radio 4 Sunday Programme

0730 BBC Radio 2

0800 All 39 BBC Local Radio Stations (as mentioned above) including BBC WM - Main Programme!

0930 BBC Radio London

1300 BBC Radio 4 The World This Weekend

Additionally, the Daily Telegraph is publishing a reflection by the Cardinal on Good Friday. And the BBC will be covering Pope Francis’  usual Urbi et Orbi on Easter Sunday on its news bulletins.

The Bishops' Conference are now providing some good material to help us all pray at home during these difficult times. These can be accessed on the website of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. You will also find there the prayers for the re-dedication of England to our Lady this Sunday. These prayers have also been placed on the Bulletin. Please remember to print off the bulletin and drop it into the letterbox of anyone you know who does not have access to the internet.

It has been great receiving feedback on our online Masses. You may not realise but the only technology we have is my mobile phone so we do not even have the ability to connect better microphones and we were limited with the very bad internet connection we have at Giffard House. For this reason, we have been recording the Masses and loading them up onto youtube afterwards. We have now upgraded the data package on my mobile phone so that we can bypass the house connection. This means that next week we will try live streaming the Masses. The quality might not be so good but it would mean that we are all praying the Mass together at exactly the same time. The Vatican has also directed that the Easter Triduum services may only be streamed live, so it will be good to practice doing this next week.

Please note therefore, that some of the Mass times have changed next week. Check the parish diary or the bulletin. 

God Bless,
Fr Mark