Oldham Deanery

(St. Mary's Deanery) Dean: Fr. Peter McKie

Diocesan website:   www.salforddiocese.org.uk

Follow this link to check Cathedral Mass Times

St. Mary's (The Hidden Gem) Mulberry Street Manchester

Mass times

QUARANT'ORE AT THE HIDDEN GEM

On the days leading up to the Feast of Christ the King, Wednesday 18th November – Saturday 21st November, the Hidden Gem is holding a Quarant’Ore devotion. This extended time of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is an ideal opportunity to “pop in and pray” for a while in central Manchester Last year this was well received by many people who were visiting Manchester during these days.

LAUNCH OF LOURDES PILGRIMAGE 2016

All the faithful of the Diocese are warmly invited to attend the celebration of Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, 8th December, 2015 at 7.30 p.m. in the Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist, Chapel Street, Salford.

This Mass takes place on the day the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will inaugurate an Extraordinary Holy Year to celebrate the grace of the Lord’s Mercy, which the Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes has chosen as the theme for all pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Our Lady during 2016.

Following the celebration of Mass, over refreshments, we will also release the information and booking forms for the 2016 pilgrimage and there will be an opportunity for us to present to you our plans and intentions for the practical arrangements for next year’s pilgrimage.

In this Extraordinary Holy Year, please encourage your friends, family and fellow parishioners to consider participating in the diocesan pilgrimage and to attend this particular celebration and launch for 2016.

Limited parking will be available in the Cathedral Centre car park, 

SAFEGUARDING E-LEARNING

Starting on 30th July 2015, the Bishops of England and Wales are providing a new resource for training in Safeguarding, not just for those working as employees or volunteers but for the whole Catholic community. This will help everyone to take seriously our responsibility to  provide adequate training for everyone. The eLearning resource is available to all members of the Catholic community free of charge, and details of how to register and access it can be found here

“Proclaim ‘15” is a national initiative from the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales encouraging the development of missionary parishes. Currently preparations are underway for a great gathering from all over the country in Birmingham on 11th July this year. Parishes are encouraged to pray and discuss their work and commitment to evangelisation, using materials provided by the Bishop’s Conference. The Bishops have asked us to use and share this prayer throughout 2015:

Loving Father, You so loved the world that you sent us your only Son, that we might believe in him and have eternal life. May we encounter Jesus Christ anew this day and live the Good News with joy. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to “go out to the whole world and proclaim” our faith with confidence. Give us the courage to witness to the Joy of the Gospel by our words and actions. Help our parish to become more welcoming and missionary, so that you may be known and loved by all people. We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Lady, Star of the New Evangelisation, Pray for us.

Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for us.

St Thérèse of Lisieux, Pray for us.

PROJECT 2030: are you in your 30s? Would you like to meet other Catholics your age? We are a group who share the same faith and interests. Recent events have included art galleries, meals, theatre, city tours. Our next event is on Saturday 12th April, meeting outside Manchester Town Hall for lunch, then Manchester Art Gallery, concluding with Mass at the Hidden Gem. We welcome new members. Just come along, or if you would like to receive our newsletter of future events contact Fr. Hugh on hugh@p2030on micrsoft.com or Sarah on sarahheaton@uwclub.net.

The Diocese is organising travel to and participation in the next World Youth Day, to be held in the presence of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in the Polish city of Krakow between 24th July and 2nd August 2016. Young people between 16 and 35 years old are welcome! ore information about the cost of the trip, registration forms, prayer cards and even a powerpoint presentation on World Youth Day can be found on the diocese website

Prayer for the Pope Emeritus

Almighty ever-living God, who has given your faithful servant Benedict grace to maintain his faith and hope in you amid the labours of his apostolic ministry; graciously bestow upon him, we pray, the consolations of your Holy Spirit and uphold him in serenity of life.

http://supportthepope.com/

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Patrick's Church Oldham from 10.30am. - 11.45am. on the last Saturday of each month

Chadderton section of the Catholic Women’s League (ST. HERBERT’S CWL)

If you would like to join the League which meets on the third Thursday of the month, contact Elsie on 0161 652 3930.

Prayer Group You are warmly invited to Prayer Group which meets at Werneth Convent, Grange Ave., Oldham, every Saturday evening 7.30 - 9.00pm. to praise God, meditate on Holy Scripture and Prayers of Intercession, followed by refreshments. Everyone welcome. For further information contact Cath Taylor on 682 8660.

The Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group meets every Friday at 7.00pm in St. Patrick’s church for prayer and praise. For more information please contact David on 07970188673

Friday penance is back

Catholics are being encouraged to take seriously the practice of weekly penance. Bishop Brain recently attended a meeting of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in which it was confirmed that we once again abstain from meat on Fridays so as to be more closely united with Christ and each other. Details: http://www.salforddiocese.org.uk/diocesan-news/70-latest-news/2145-friday-penance-is-back

Cathedral Centre Books

A new diocesan bookshop, Cathedral Centre Books, has opened its doors. The bookshop is on the ground floor of the Cathedral Centre, just inside the reception area. It is hoped the bookshop will be a great resource for all our parishes and schools across the diocese. Why not pay a visit and have a look around? It has a wide range of books, pamphlets and gifts. Open Monday – Saturday, 9.00am – 5.00pm. Cathedral Centre Books, 3 Ford St., Salford M3 6DP. Tel: 0161 817 2208. Parking is available at the Cathedral Centre (or you can save the bus fare or petrol and support your own piety shop!).

The Salford diocesan archives have relocated to the Upper Hall at St Augustine's in Manchester.

Each academic term, drop-in sessions are arranged on selected dates when the archives will be accessible without the need of a prior appointment. The archives will be open for drop-in sessions every Tuesday between 3pm and 8pm until December 14th.

If you would like to visit the archives, please contact the diocesan archivist, Fr David Lannon , either by email or by telephone (0161 236 6762).

Marriage Preparation
The diocesan Office for Marriage and Family has announced the dates and venues of courses:-
Marriage Preparation Courses

.Hospital Chaplaincies

Hospital patients desiring visit/s from the chaplain need to register their request with the hospital's chaplaincy. Full contact details now available on the website. Click Here

The Mental Capacity Act and 'Living Wills'
The new Mental Capacity Act has a number of far reaching implications and will affect anyone unable to make decisions for themselves.

A Practical Guide for Catholics
The Bishops' Conference has produced a short guide:
MCA Guide (pdf, 308kbytes)

PUBLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER "MOTU PROPRIO DATA" SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970

Letter to Bishops

Apostolic Letter (non official English translation)

Salford Liturgy Office

Statement from the president of the Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor 20 July 2006 Holy Days of Obligation which are Solemnities of the Lord (other than Christmas Day) are to be moved to Sundays. This means that the Epiphany, the Ascension of the Lord and Corpus Christi will now be celebrated on Sunday. The Bishops of England and Wales have decided to transfer these Holy Days of Obligation to Sunday in response to requests from theDiocesan Council of Priests and many others. The Holy See approved these changes to the calendar on 13 July 2006 and they take effect on 3 December 2006, the First Sunday of Advent.

Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies
RE Centre
Plymouth Grove
Longsight
Manchester M13 0AS

The CCRS is important to anyone intending to enter Catholic Education. In the majority of Catholic Schools the CCRS is a requirement of employment and/or promotion. A course is currently running and comprises a number of stand-alone modules which may be commenced at any time.
Further details:
Bernard Stuart, 0161 256 6207, RE Centre.

Listen to the Family-

The website "Everybody's Welcome" is a response to needs expressed during the Listening 2004 initiative

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PARISH & DEANERY RE-ORGANISATION - Development Framework

Proposals affecting St. Mary's Deanery are:

St. Patrick's Oldham has been identified as a "Gem Church". That is, a building which will be developed as a focus for prayer and devotion within the deanery.

St. Patrick's Oldham and St. Mary's Oldham

Our Lady's Moorside and Sacred Heart Derker

Holy Family Limeside and Holy Rosary Fitton Hill (1 priest to serve 2 churches)

1. Sts. Aiden & Oswald Royton and St. Joseph's Shaw
2. St. Herbert's Chadderton and Corpus Christi Hollinwood
3. Our Lady's Moorside with Sacred Heart Derker, St. Anne's Greenacres, St. Edward's Lees with St. Michael's Abbeyhills

SAFE IN OUR CARE  In January 2002 Bishop Brain set up the Salford Diocese Child Protection Commission. Fr. Barry O'Sullivan has been appointed as Child Protection Coordinator and Patricia Gilligan, a social worker, has been appointed as the Child Protection Advisor.

The Commission has the responsibility to help parishes implement child protection guidelines (Safe in Our Care guidelines) Each parish has been asked to appoint a Child Protection Representative to act as a link between parish and commission.  St. Edward's Parish  Child Protection Representative is Eileen O'Toole and her role will be to help our parish volunteers, who are working with children, to implement the "Safe in our Care" guidelines. The  Diocesan Child Protection Commission are refining their delivery of training to parish based representatives in 2006. Training will focus at deanery level groupings so that constituent parish reps may meet and form mutual and collective support for the deanery. See website for further details