Fourth Sunday of Easter 11.05.2025

Pope Leo XIV: A New Chapter for the Catholic Church

On Thursday, Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV, becoming the 267th Bishop of Rome and the first American pope. Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955, he pursued his religious studies at Villanova University and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas before being ordained in 1982.

Leo XIV spent much of his clerical life in Peru, serving as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. His deep connection with Latin America shaped his pastoral approach, emphasizing unity, peace, and outreach to marginalized communities. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, a role in which he advised on global bishop appointments.

Upon his election, Pope Leo XIV expressed his commitment to continuing the reforms of Pope Francis, focusing on bridge-building and dialogue. His first address from St. Peter’s Basilica highlighted his vision for a missionary church, dedicated to peace and charity.

As the first Augustinian pope, Leo XIV brings a unique perspective to the papacy, blending American and Latin American influences to guide the Catholic Church into a new era.

Let us keep Pope Leo in our prayers

Fourth Sunday of Easter 11.05.2025

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS

Sun 11th May​​

8.30am​ Mary McAvoy, anniversary

​10am​​​ Lillian Murphy, RIP

12noon​ Anne Gorman, 1st anniversary

Mon 12th May        ​Easter Feria

10am           ​Nancy O’Shaughnessy, RIP

Tues 13th May​ Easter Feria

​NO MASS

​Weds 14th May​​ Saint Matthias

​​​​NO MASS

Thurs 15th May​ Easter Feria

10am​ Zodiac, intentions​

Fri 16th May​ Easter Feria

10am​ Thompson Nyatube Akporille, RIP

Sat 17th May​ Fifth Sunday of Easter

5pm ​Dan Murray, RIP

4.30pm – 5pm: Confessions and Exposition

YOUR PRAYERS:

Let us keep in our prayers: Julius Lipner, David Ryan, Margaret Ryan, Michael O’Boy, Christina Cahill, Eric Nicholas Darwent, Therese Kemp, Jose Luis Pérez, Karina McKiernan, Jonathan Heller and Izabela Lissowska – all unwell at this time. We also pray for: Pope Francis, Ray Bates, Canon Bernard Scholes, Sveta Valeri, James Corr, Maud Holloway, Una Murphy, Mary Drumm, Kitty Heenan, Fr Sean Carroll, Fr David Barnes, Gerry Stenson, Luis Goncalves, Arcangela Moretto, Patrick Jean Noel Louis-Auguste, Jose Barreto, Gianpiero Gallian, Mary Teresa Foran, Martin Flanagan, Noeleen Hare, Noreen McGlynn, James McCormack, Giulia Mortali, Gino Tomei and Raymond Bates whose anniversaries occur at this time or have died recently. May they Rest in Peace.

PARISH QUIZ NIGHT

Fr Peter writes “Out of respect for the recent conclave, I have decided to defer this Saturday’s parish quiz to a later date.”

FUNERAL MASS FOR RAYMOND BATES

The Funeral Mass for Ray Bates will take place at St Mary’s on Monday 19th May at 10 am.  Let us keep Ray and his family in our prayers.  Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace.  Amen.

OFFERTORY COLLECTION

The offertory collection for week ending 4th May was £624.08 and Contactless was £147.48.

Standing Orders, Online and Stripe will be communicated one month in arrears.  Thank you for your generosity

ST MARY’S LENT COURSE – 2025

“WHEN YOU PRAY” CONTINUES AFTER EASTER!……for 2 more sessions….

Monday 19th May and Monday 26th May.

Each session is an hour, beginning at 7:30pm and occurs in the small hall

PRIESTS’ TRAINING FUND – SECOND COLLECTION

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday and our second collection will support

the Priest Training Fund. This fund pays for the priestly formation of men

for the Catholic priesthood. There are currently 50 men studying at Allen Hall

seminary, 13 of whom are from our own Diocese. 2 of these are deacons for Westminster. We also have 2 seminarians at the Royal English College in Valladolid. Last year 3 deacons who studied at Allen Hall were ordained priests. The fund also supports the ongoing enrichment and formation of our ordained priests. Your gift ensures we can provide training for these men responding to Christ’s call to dedicate their lives to serve God’s people. Please be as generous as you can. Please also pray for vocations and for all our priests. If you do not have a donation envelope, plenty are still available at the back of the church. You can use the QR code to make your donation online or visit www.rcdow.org.uk/donations. Thank you for your generosity

FUN AFTERNOON LOOKING FOR STATUES IN THE CITY SUPPORT A WORTHY CAUSE: SATURDAY 17TH MAY

The Aysanew Kassa Trust is raising funds for their work supporting the education of the children of Azezo, Ethiopia, including the care and education of 70 blind children at a school for blind children run by Catholic nuns.  The charity is an East Finchley-based charity run by, among others, St Mary’s parishioners Jean Bailey and Daniel Servini. We are offering another fun afternoon (our fourth) starting at 11.30/12 noon on Saturday 17th May, walking the streets of the City of London, exploring and looking for statues.  The walk starts at Deutsche Bank, near Moorgate Station and finishes close by.  Each adult is asked to donate £30 whilst accompanied children are free.  For more information and/or to book a place, contact:  Jean Bailey on 07484889062 or Daniel Servini on 07858963528.

Paris trip to Rome

For those of us going on a day trip to Rome on Tuesday, we need to be outside St Mary’s no later than 3:30am.

“SAVE THE DATE”: 11am MASS on SUNDAY 29th JUNE

Please do not forget our parish “Jubilee Year celebration Mass” at 11am on Sunday 29th June. We are going to celebrate Ordination Jubilee’s – (Canon Robert Plourde and Fr Michael O’Boy) and Wedding Jubilees! Also “milestone birthdays” and a few more “life events” to acknowledge and give thanks for. Please put the date and time in your diaries as this celebration will replace our parish feast day in May.

YOU, ME AND POPE LEO.

“In a particular way, God has called me by your election to succeed the Prince of the Apostles, and has entrusted this treasure to me so that, with his help, I may be its faithful administrator (cf. 1 Cor 4:2) for the sake of the entire mystical Body of the Church. He has done so in order that she may be ever more fully a city set on a hill (cf. Rev 21:10), an ark of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of this world. And this, not so much through the magnificence of her structures or the grandeur of her buildings – like the monuments among which we find ourselves – but rather through the holiness of her members. For we are the people whom God has chosen as his own, so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light (cf. 1 Pet 2:9).”

Pope Leo XIV