PILGRIMAGE 2025, THE HOLY YEAR: ROME, ASSISI AND SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO

Webmaster • December 22, 2024

Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a ‘Holy Year’. This means that everyone who visits Rome next year, who prays for the intentions of the Holy Father, celebrates holy Mass and Reconciliation, is promised many special blessings from the Lord. The tradition is that this happens only once every 25 years!


With the great help of Adrian and his ‘Northern Star’ Travel Agency, I have negotiated a superb deal to enable us to stay in the Eternal City of Rome next year. Not only that, but also to visit and stay in two other amazing locations, Assisi and its connection with St Francis and St.Clare, as well as visiting and staying in St Giovanni Rotondo where the holy priest who was given the wounds of Jesus (Stigmata)St Padre Pio, lived and ministered.


We will spend 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Assisi and 3 nights in San Giovanni Rotondo. A taste of what we will do: Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, holy Mass in St John Lateran Basilica, visit the Catacombs, Papal Audience, Tour of Rome - churches of St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Walls, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Navona Square etc, etc; holy Mass in Basilica of St Francis, holy Mass in the Basilica of St Clare, visit Porziuncola, San Damiano, Loreto; guided tour of San Giovanni, visit chapel of the Stigmata,Pietrelcina.


Lots of free time for relaxing, looking around, shopping


Excellent quality hotels for Dinner, Bed, Breakfast; all excursions, English-speaking guide; Outward flight: Gatwick-Rome(9.30am), Return flight: Bari-Gatwick(4.55pm); all airport duties and passenger taxes


28th April to 7th May 2025. A week after Easter. A perfect time to visit Rome and Italy when the climate is ideal, not too hot and not cold.


Cost: £1400pp all inclusive.


Rome and Italy will be very busy for the Holy Year and prices will soar! We are really blessed to have arranged such a great itinerary at such a relatively modest and very economic cost. I suspect that there will be lots of interest in this pilgrimage and it’s quite possible that we will have to limit numbers. I hope to offer this pilgrimage to various people and groups. If you are seriously interested, I suggest you contact me as soon as possible. I have Booking Forms available now.

DEALING WITH LONELINESS - 11TH JULY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

By Webmaster • March 16, 2026
Deep in the human heart is a longing to be connected to others, to love and to be loved. I am leading this Workshop from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Saturday 11th July . The Workshop will help us to understand the reasons why we sometimes feel lonely and what a devastating effect Loneliness can have on us. I’ll suggest effective ways to ensure that your experience of Loneliness can actually become the means of finding deep, satisfying ways of being close to the Lord and to other people. The workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.

DEALING WITH ANXIETY - 22/23 MAY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

By Webmaster • March 16, 2026
Anxiety and Worry often make life difficult for many people. I am leading this Workshop, from the evening of Friday 22nd May ( 6.30pm to 8.30pm) then continuing on Saturday 23rd May (11.00am TO 1.00pm). This Workshop will explain how Anxiety begins, how it can take hold of us and then spoil so much of our lives. I’ll also offer some very good, tried and tested ways in which people can escape from Worry or at the very least reduce it and begin to live much happier lives, feeling and monk . The Workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.

LENTEN PENANCE SERVICE/OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION -31st MARCH

By Webmaster • March 16, 2026
We will have a short Penance Service, followed by an opportunity for individual reconciliation with the Lord, on Tuesday 31st March at 6.00pm

SHORT MORNING OF RECOLLECTION FOR ALL EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS - 28th MARCH

By Webmaster • March 16, 2026
May I invite all our present Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who feel the Lord is calling them to this sacred ministry, to please join me for a time of prayer and reflection on Saturday 28th March from 10.30am until 12.00midday. We will begin in the church for 30 minutes of quiet personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament; then we will move into our Cafe for reflection on the privileged gift of this most sacred of ministries, including conversations about logistics. This short time is an opportunity to prepare hearts and minds to renew a commitment to Eucharistic Ministry during holy Mass on Maundy Thursday.

THANK YOU

By Webmaster • March 16, 2026
To everyone who bakes or provides cakes for our Olde Forge Cafe. Please let me know if you could join our rota of very kind people who occasionally bake or provide cakes for the Cafe. Thank you to Margaret Fuller who provides the cakes this week.  Also, thank you to Bridget Saunders who will let us have some delicious Irish Soda Bread on Tuesday, to celebrate the Feast of St.Patrick.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

By Webmaster • March 15, 2026
7/8: 5pm Mary; 9am Lisa; 11am Carolyn 14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Giannina 21/22: 5pm Lesley; 9am Linda; 11am Regina 28/29: 5pm Patrick; 9am Paul; 11am Lizzie Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • March 15, 2026
Mon: David  Fri: Lorenza

ROTA FOR LECTORS – MARCH 2026

By Webmaster • March 15, 2026
7/8: 5pm Jim; 9am Lorenza; 11am Patricia 14/15: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Phil; 11am Marian 21/22: 5pm Mike; 9am Chris; 11am Collette  28/29: 5pm Paul; 9am Gerry; 11am Claire

PARISH FOOD BANK

By Webmaster • March 15, 2026
Our rota for the delivery of food to the Good Shepherd school in New Addington begins this week. Please find the rota below. The dates indicated are Thursdays during the school term. Please collect the two hessian bags of fruit on Thursdays from the porch of the presbytery between the hours of 8.30am and 2.30pm. Please then bring the fruit to the school in New Addington. The fruit could even be collected and delivered on Friday mornings too, if necessary. The address of the school is: 23, Dunley Drive New Addington CR0 0RG. The school is close to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. 26th Feb : Margaret Laycock 5th March : Maggie Bailey 12th March : Lauren Andrews Knight 19th March : Mark Stanley 26th March : Frederick Clarke

OLD FORGE CAFE BAKER’S AND HOST'S ROTA

By Webmaster • March 15, 2026
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA MARCH 2026 7: Lauren 14: Margaret Fuller 21: Anderson 28: Mary Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week. Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn. OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA MARCH 2026 3: Maggie, Regina 7: Phil, Mary 8: Patricia, Jim 10: Colette, David 14: Marian, Lesley 15: Lesley, Emmanuela 17: Patrick, Paul 21: Simone, Gaberielle 22: Bridget, Jannine 24: Ros, Lizzie 28: Kelly-Ann, Carolyn 29: Giannina, Lorenza  31: Linda, Maggie Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks. Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host. The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord