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A magazine for parishioners and friends of St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
DIOCESAN NEWS
In the quiet early hours of Friday, 13 June 2025, in the comfort of her family home in Springvale, Victoria, Maria Mung Thi Nguyen – the beloved mother of Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta – passed away peacefully at the age of 98, surrounded by the love of her family. (Read More)
A leading safeguarding advocate from the Diocese of Parramatta is heading to Rome to take part in the annual International Safeguarding Conference (ISC) in June, which this year will have a strengths-based focus on the safety of women, “Women of Faith, Women of Strength”. Ballina Gee, a founding member of the Diocese’s Safeguarding Council, will be representing the Diocese at the conference, to be held at the Pontifical Gregorian University from 17 to 20 June. The conference brings together safeguarding specialists, trauma experts and others dedicated to finding solutions and sharing best practices in safeguarding. This year it will hear not just from religious speakers, but also those from academia and community organisations. Ballina said she was looking forward […] (Read More)
On this feast of the Ascension, we hear both the conclusion of Luke’s gospel and the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Written by the same author, these two passages provide us with the link between the two books. It’s the moment when the apostles are asked, ‘Why do you stand looking into heaven?’ The two men who ask the question are in white garments and they appear to the apostles just as Jesus is being lifted up and disappearing from them. Two men in white garments, just as there were at the Transfiguration (evocative of Moses and Elijah), and just as there were when the women went to Jesus’ tomb. (Read More)
In an interview marking the Jubilee of the Holy See and an upcoming audience with Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin describes Apostolic Nuncios as bridges that link the Pope with local Churches, the Church with States, and the world’s wounds with the hope of the Gospel. (Read More)
No longer relying on the Mexican government or police to find their missing loved ones, more than 200 groups of mothers and fathers, known as searchers, now dig with their own hands in vacant lots across Mexico. (Read More)
The strongest winds of 2025 whipped Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains over the weekend – an uncanny echo of the first Pentecost, when a “sound like the rush of a violent wind” filled the house where the disciples were gathered (Acts 2:2). That same Spirit stirred across 47 parishes in the Diocese of Parramatta as communities came together to celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost – the day the Church was born through the descent of the Holy Spirit. (Read More)
The 60th Jubilee of Holy Family Catholic Church, Mt Druitt, was a powerful celebration of six decades of faith, community, and enduring trust with Aboriginal families in one of Greater Sydney’s most diverse suburbs. (Read More)
News & Events Weekly Update News and Events across the Diocese of Parramatta and beyond (Read More)
As the Diocese of Parramatta marks Safe Parishes Week 2025, parishes across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains are celebrating initiatives that put safeguarding into action. One such initiative is the ongoing series of Morning Teas for Safeguarding the Elderly – a listening-focused approach that invites older parishioners and ministry leaders to come together in conversation, reflection, and care. (Read More)
The presence of volunteer Catechists in public schools is a gift to the Church and to the families of Catholic children enrolled in them. This was Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv’s message to the 35 delegates from 11 dioceses gathered at St Joseph’s Spirituality Centre in Baulkham Hills, at the recent CCRESS Conference on May 15 and 16. (Read More)