Pā Karaitiana Kingi, Marist priest, celebrated his 50th jubilee at Takitimu Marae Wairoa on Saturday 16th November. The venue was appropriate as Kingi was ordained at this marae by Bishop Snedden. It was the first time a Māori priest had been ordained on a marae. Various priests, religious Sisters and Brothers joined Fr Karaitiana and Read more
On Saturday Bishop Patrick Dunn celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving in St Patrick’s Cathedral to mark the 200th anniversary of the Marist Brothers. They were founded in France by St Marcellin Champagnat in 1817. Marist brothers accompanied Bishop Pompallier when he began his mission in the South West Pacific in 1838. In 1876 a community Read more
The Catholic Diocese of Lae in Morobe, Papua New Guinea celebrated its golden anniversary earlier this month. The historical celebration took place at St. Mary’s Primary School grounds. Various cultural representations were witnessed by thousands of faithful from the diocese, well-wishers from the region as well as visitors from outside PNG. The Apostolic Nuncio of Read more
The founder of a US religious order died during a Mass celebrating 75 years since she made her first vows. Mother Rosemae Pender, FSE, had a heart attack during the Mass in Connecticut. She was the Mother Foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. Mother Rosemae had received the renewal of her vows during Read more
Pope Francis has decried the obsession with perfect bodies, saying it leads society to hide the disabled to avoid offending the privileged. In a homily at a Mass at St Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled, the Pope called for mutual solidarity and acceptance. Francis criticised the modern “objections” Read more
Pope Francis has exhorted priests not to see people who approach them for spiritual help merely as “cases” to be handled. In a series of reflections for priests who had come to Rome as part of the Year of Mercy celebrations, the Pope said: “Mercy gets its hands dirty.” Francis said he had heard many Read more
Pope Francis surprised thousands of teenagers by personally hearing confessions for more than an hour in St Peter’s Square on Saturday. The Pope administered the sacrament of Reconciliation to 16 teenage boys and girls. It was part of a three-day Jubilee for Teens, for young people aged between 13 and 16, which is an initiative Read more
Pope Francis has laid out his vision of re-evangelisation in the 21st century, stating that the “club of judgement” will not bring back the lost sheep. Francis told hundreds of priests who are to serve as “Missionaries of Mercy” during the jubilee year that holiness of life is the principle of renewal and reform in Read more
Pope Francis has opened the Jubilee Year of Mercy by calling for a Church that always puts mercy before judgement. In a Mass at St Peter’s Square on December 8, Francis said the holy year is a gift of grace. “How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we affirm that sins Read more
Pope Francis has described God as “both father and mother”. In an interview with the magazine Credere, the Pope explained his decision to call a Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Jubilee Year might help the faithful to recognise “the maternal dimension of God”, the Pope observed. He explained that he was speaking of “the tenderness, typical Read more