Links to pages on our website:
Safeguarding is an essential part in the life and ministry of the Church. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure our parishes and institutions are safe places, especially for those who are vulnerable. Abuse and harm have no place in our diocese. There is zero tolerance to abuse, harm and any behaviour that falls short of appropriate safeguarding practices as expressed in National Policies.
|
|
|
Embracing the Loving Mercy of God
Embracing the Loving Mercy of God: on 5th April we have a Lent Retreat day to reflect upon and experience Reconciliation as the Sacrament of Hope.
Speakers:
Fr. Brendan Callaghan SJ former Novice Master of the United Noviceship of the British, Irish, Flemish and Dutch Jesuit Provinces and former Master of Campion Hall. When responding to the invitation to speak Fr. Brendan wrote ‘It is a sacrament which I find intensely consoling to celebrate’. He is particularly delighted to return to Bristol where he celebrated the Sacrament for the first time at St. Mary on the Quay.
Margaret and Barry Mizzen whose son Jimmy was brutally murdered the day after his 16th birthday. Margaret and Barry have refused to give into hate and have worked tirelessly since Jimmy’s death to promote peace and reconciliation, particularly among young people.
The day will provide the opportunity for conversation and reflection on the two presentations. The day will finish with a Service of Reconciliation and the opportunity for individual confession with Bishop Bosco and priests from around the Diocese.
Venue: St. Bernadette’s Catholic School, Whitchurch, Bristol.
Refreshments from 9.30am, welcome and opening prayer will be at 10am. Please bring a packed lunch. Our day will end by 3.30pm.
To register for the day, please click on the Eventbrite link:
|
Rite of Election 2025
On the first Saturday of Lent, as at the start of every Lent, our diocesan family gathered at the cathedral together with our bishop to celebrate the Rite of Election, where those who are journeying towards becoming part of our Catholic community are presented to Bishop Bosco. Here family and friends, sponsors and godparents, joined with those preparing for Baptism (catechumens) and those preparing to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church (candidates) as they came to this stage of their journey towards reception of the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
This year, as always, it was good to see that joy on the faces of the 62 catechumens and 49 candidates, as they were each greeted by our bishop. These numbers, of course, do not include those who are continuing their journey towards baptism or full communion at Easter but were unable to be present at the cathedral. We keep these people too in our prayers, along with their sponsors and godparents, as we continue our Lenten journey to Easter.
|
Reconciliation Liturgies
Bishop Bosco invites you to join him during this season of Lent to celebrate the abundant mercy of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Join him at one of the five venues across our diocese as part of your Lenten Pilgrimage.
Thursday 13 March: Immaculate Conception, Stroud
Thursday 20 March: St Peter, Swindon
Thursday 27 March: St Gregory the Great, Cheltenham
Thursday 3 April: St George, Taunton
Thursday 10 April: St Francis, Nailsea
Each Liturgy will start at 7pm
Building upon the beautiful gatherings during Lent he is, once again, inviting our diocesan community to gather with him in celebration of God’s merciful love as part of our Lenten journey.
There will be priests available at each venue to celebrate sacramental reconciliation. You will be most welcome at any of the venues. |
|
Civic Mass @ Clifton Cathedral
On March 2nd, with the sun shining, the 2025 Civic Mass was held at Clifton Cathedral with Bishop Bosco as the main Celebrant. Canon Colin Mason welcomed the Mayoral Procession at the West Door.
In attendance, amongst others, were the Lord Lieutenant, Peaches Golding, The High Sheriff, Richard Pendlebury, the Lord Mayor, Andrew Varney, Former Lord Mayors, Magistrates, High Court Judges, Honorary Aldermen and Members of the Council.
|
|
Bishop Bosco Commissioned as an Ecumenical Canon at Bristol Cathedral
Bishop Bosco MacDonald was Commissioned as an Ecumenical Canon at Bristol Cathedral during Choral Evensong on Sunday 9th March 2025. The Officiant was The Very Revd Dr Mandy Ford, Dean of Bristol, and the Preacher was the Right Revd Vivienne Faull, Bishop of Bristol.
|
|
Diocesan Curia Conference Day
Join us on Saturday March 29th 2025 at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College Bristol, for a day filled with learning, networking, and enjoyment. Doors open from 9:30am with pastries and refreshments.
The event is for parishes and volunteers to meet with members of the Curial departments and attend a variety of presentations and workshops.
The event will begin at 9.45am and finish at 2.30pm.
Workshops include:
Communication and Media: Workshop covering basic copyright law and how it relates to your parish.
Property Services: Covering topics around Health and Safety essentials, which includes pilgrimages, works to buildings, Property Risk Assessments and Third Parties use of a property.
Safeguarding: Covering the planning of a pilgrimage, which includes Health and Safety risk assessments, safeguarding matters including the Safeguarding Policy, Safer Recruitment of volunteers and Safeguarding of attendees.
Finance: Workshop covering common themes emerging from the audit of parishes. In particular focus on key recommendations concerning financial controls, budgeting, cashflow management and emergency preparedness.
Schools & Colleges: An opportunity to learn about the Diocesan Vision for education, and the importance of parish links, good practice where both school and parish have flourished.
Human Resources: Workshop aimed at colleagues and volunteers with delegated Line Manager responsibility to guide you through processes such as sickness, holiday tracking, and how the HR team can support you in managing employees well-being and performance.
Cyber Security: This workshop provides an overview of the different types of cyber threats and steps that you can take to stay safe online. Topics to be covered include, how to protect against phishing, the use of strong passwords, and securing your devices.
Data Protection/GDPR: This workshop will provide refresher training on the key elements of Data Protection/GDPR and will cover the processing of personal data within the context of parish activities.
When registering, please select one workshop in each slot that you wish to attend, so that we can manage numbers.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to expand your knowledge and make new friends. See you there!
Doors will open around 9.30am. Car parking is provided and it will be signed posted on where to park.
|
|
Jubilee Celebration of Hope
We would like to invite you to our big Diocesan celebration on Saturday 19 July, where we will be gathering with Bishop Bosco for our Diocesan Jubilee Day of Hope.
Our venue will be Downside School & Abbey. We will have three keynote speakers for our adult programme, as well as a children’s & young people’s programme throughout the day.
Our keynote speakers are:
 Jane Livesey CJ - Sister Jane is a member of the apostolic religious order known as the Congregation of Jesus. Sister Jane’s professional background was in education, and she was Headmistress of St Mary’s School Shaftesbury, in the Clifton Diocese, from 1985 to 1998.
 Eddie Gilmore - Eddie grew up in an Irish family in Coventry and later moved to Canterbury where he was part of the L’Arche Kent community for twenty-eight years. Eddie is a writer (with several books to his name), a musician and regularly contributing to BBC Radio 2’s ‘Pause for Thought’.
 Simon Uttley - Simon is a Catholic school headmaster with 20 years’ experience; full professor at the University of Notre Dame (USA) London and Visiting Professor at St Mary's University in London.
Children and Teen-Age Jubilee Programme - A full programme of activities will be run by experienced group leaders for our children and young people ranging in age from 3-15. More details to follow so watch out for information coming out.
Mass - Our Jubilee Celebration of Mass will take place in the Abbey Church at 3pm. Principal Celebrant Bishop Bosco MacDonald and the Abbot of Downside Dom Nicholas Wetz OSB.
Booking - If you would like to join us for the day, booking through Eventbrite is essential.
|
Jubilee Year of Hope: A Call to Encounter
The journey so far…
As we step into this Jubilee Year of Hope, don’t Forget the Holy Spirit Ministries are filled with anticipation in sharing the wonderful news of a diocesan-wide initiative that promises to inspire and transform us all as we prepare for Pentecost 2025.
In 2023, Fr Matt Anscombe released his powerful book, Don’t Forget the Holy Spirit—a heartfelt call to discover or rediscover the life-changing presence of the Holy Spirit. Since then, Fr Matt and Caroline Sadd have had the privilege of hosting Holy Spirit evenings across our Diocese, as well as a transformative Day of Encounter last May. The hunger for more has been undeniable, leading the team to ask a simple yet profound question: What’s next?
Through prayer, discernment, and collaboration with the Clifton Renewal Team, we believe the Lord has led us to a clear and exciting answer. Inspired by the example of dioceses such as Southwark, Arundel & Brighton, and Northampton, we are overjoyed to announce the launch of a Diocesan-wide “Encounter” programme, set to begin in Eastertide 2025. This journey will culminate in a Vigil Mass for Pentecost—a powerful moment of renewal where we come together to strengthen our faith, open our hearts, and unite as a community empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The aim of this Encounter journey is to equip and empower people to share their faith and be renewed in heart and mind. The first step is to deepen our understanding of the Holy Spirit and cultivate a closer, more intimate relationship with God—this is at the heart of what we hope to achieve between Easter and Pentecost.
The programme will officially begin on Saturday, 3rd May, with a launch event at the Cathedral, open to all ages. We are delighted to offer children’s streams, ensuring families can fully participate in this exciting journey together. Weekly sessions will follow on Wednesday evenings, live-streamed from the Cathedral, enabling everyone across the Diocese to join in, wherever they are.
Please take time to navigate this section where you will find everything that you need to know about the journey ahead.
Let us come together, with hearts on fire, to rekindle the flame of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our parishes, and our communities. This is a moment of renewal—a time to embrace the Spirit’s transformative power and share that hope and joy with all those we encounter.
Together, let us embark on this exciting new chapter of faith, with hearts open to all that God has in store for us.
|
Annual Pilgrimage to Glastonbury: Please note new date:
Sunday 7th September 2025
“Mary, Woman of Hope”
This year’s pilgrimage will take place on Sunday, 7th September 2025 and will be centred around the theme of ‘Mary, Woman of Hope’, aligning with the Jubilee Year’s theme of “Pilgrims of Hope.”
As well as the usual Rosary Procession around Glastonbury town centre in the afternoon, there will be an additional Procession in the morning to celebrate the Jubilee from the Abbey grounds to the top of Glastonbury Tor.
|
2025 Lourdes Pilgrimage - Bookings open now!
The Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes will take place from Friday 22nd August to Friday 29th August 2025.
As usual, we shall be part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage. Tagney tours will be taking bookings for hotels and flights. Details are yet to be finalised, but we shall be travelling from Birmingham airport direct to Tarbes-Lourdes airport.
Bookings are now open via the Tangney Tours website here:
Clifton Pilgrims are requested to book either the Astrid or the Irelande hotels.
Re-live the 2024 Lourdes Pilgrimage; High Staions of the Cross with Fr Eugene Campbell
One of the highlights of a visit to Lourdes is walking the High Stations of the Cross. In this video, Fr Eugene Campbell leads us along the path up higher and higher through all the Stations.
|
The Happy Life of Virtue
Clifton Diocese in partnership with ‘Light of Truth’ are offering 4 more sessions to discover the virtues of faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, keys to a holy and happy life, in communion with God and in imitation of Our Blessed Mother Mary.
We continue on 14 March with our session ‘Prudence’. This and the following sessions will take place every second Friday of the Month, at 7.30 pm.
14 March – 4: Prudence
11 April – 5: Justice
9 May – 6: Fortitude
13 June – 7: Temperance
This course is designed for the Catholic Women’s Association and is open to everyone.
To sign up for the series, please click on the Zoom link here.
|
|
|
