24 Apr 2026
HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY – FRIDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER

HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY – FRIDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER

ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY 24 APRIL 2026 It was perversely codenamed Unternehmen Mondscheinsonate (Operation Moonlight Sonata)—as 500+ Luftwaffe bombers razed the industrial City of Coventry through the night of 14 November 1940.[1]  Marker flares were dropped around the city, followed by high-explosive bombs which knocked out the water, power, transport and communications. Later waves of […]

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24 Apr 2026
How a Naval officer’s analytical mind led him to the church

How a Naval officer’s analytical mind led him to the church

There is a particular kind of discipline that the Royal Australian Navy instils in its officers. A capacity to assess, to interrogate, to weigh evidence and act decisively. For Jared Karchel, logistics officer and father of two, that same discipline would eventually lead him not to a command post, but to a baptismal font. “Throughout […]

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23 Apr 2026
Family’s journey to faith begins with unexpected diagnosis

Family’s journey to faith begins with unexpected diagnosis

The Kinna-Puru family. Photo: Supplied. Among the thousands of people across Australia who joined the Catholic Church this Easter season was Kaila Kinna-Puru and her family who attend Our Lady Help of Christians in Culburra Beach on the South Coast.  Kinna-Puru, her husband Cody, and their five children, now aged between one and 11 years old, came to the faith after discovering their youngest […]

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23 Apr 2026
From Bossley Park to Baghdad 

From Bossley Park to Baghdad 

Mar Paulos III receiving flowers. Photo: Patrick J Lee. First a bearded and turbaned crucifer in traditional Iraqi garb flanked by altar boys with candles. Then more candles. Then a dozen white-gowned young men with four-metre palm branches. Then dozens of women with white veils and white embroidered gowns. Then a phalanx of deacons with […]

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23 Apr 2026
Sydney welcomes new Catholics at ‘very exciting time’ for global church

Sydney welcomes new Catholics at ‘very exciting time’ for global church

Sydney’s newest Catholics have been welcomed into the Church at St Mary’s Cathedral for a special liturgy and post-Mass luncheon.  The cathedral was packed for the Sunday Solemn Mass, as it coincided with the annual  archdiocesan Paschal Eucharist – Celebration for the Newly Initiated event, which served as a welcome from Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP for those recently baptised and those received into the […]

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22 Apr 2026
Parents invited to renew family life at ‘Messy Families’ retreat

Parents invited to renew family life at ‘Messy Families’ retreat

Mike and Alicia Hernon. Photo: Supplied. Catholic parents across Sydney are being invited to invest some quality time in the future of their families through a two-day Messy Families course and retreat on 8–9 May held at St Peter Chanel and St Joseph’s Parish, Berala.  The event forms part of the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Messy Family Project […]

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21 Apr 2026
SHORT REMARKS FOR OFFICIAL WELCOME OF HIS BEATITUDE MAR PAUL III NONA, PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEES

SHORT REMARKS FOR OFFICIAL WELCOME OF HIS BEATITUDE MAR PAUL III NONA, PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEES

ST THOMAS CHALDEAN CATHEDRAL, BOSSLEY PARK, 21 APRIL 2026 Your Beatitude, Your Eminence, Your Excellencies, Reverend Fathers and Sisters, brothers and sisters in Christ, On behalf of the (Latin) Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the Catholic Bishops of Australia, it is my bitter-sweet duty—bitter-sweet like Dahinia or Zane Zane or Dolma—to welcome and farewell His […]

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21 Apr 2026
Experts share their hopes for the Sydney Synod

Experts share their hopes for the Sydney Synod

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP with Bishop Daniel Meagher. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 Next week, the Synod of Sydney will gather Catholics from different parishes, communities and chaplaincies alongside those from health, welfare, and education sectors within our archdiocese to respond to grass-roots longings that emerged over years of consultation.  The three repeated and Holy Spirit-inspired longings were for more prayerful liturgies, […]

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21 Apr 2026
A clearer path home: New RCIA video supports growing interest in the faith

A clearer path home: New RCIA video supports growing interest in the faith

The Archdiocese of Sydney has launched a new video introducing the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), as more people enquire about and enter the Catholic Church across Australia. The short resource offers a simple, accessible guide for those considering the journey of faith, responding to growing interest alongside uncertainty about the process of […]

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20 Apr 2026
This year’s Fatima procession proclaims the Light to the Nations  

This year’s Fatima procession proclaims the Light to the Nations  

In imitation of the celebration of Our Lady of Fatima each year in Portugal, three children were chosen to process as the shepherd seers. White handkerchiefs were waved by crowds farewelling Our Lady from the forecourt. Photo: Giovanni Portelli When hundreds of candles stream around the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral on the evening of 16 May, […]

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19 Apr 2026
Homily for the Paschal Eucharist, Third Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Homily for the Paschal Eucharist, Third Sunday of Easter (Year A)

St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 19 April 2026  The reality show Shark Tank has had six Australian seasons so far. Its premise is simple: everyday people are given the chance to persuade a panel of multi-millionaires (called ‘sharks’) to invest in their business idea. Each contestant has only a few minutes to make their case and […]

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17 Apr 2026
Formation nights prepare members for Sydney Synod

Formation nights prepare members for Sydney Synod

The Archdiocese of Sydney has held two formation nights ahead of the Sydney Synod, which will take place from 30 April to 3 May.  Synod working party members Bishop Daniel Meagher, Sr Anastasia Reeves OP, and Sydney Centre for Evangelisation director Daniel Ang addressed the gatherings at St Mary’s Cathedral College Hall, outlining the aims […]

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15 Apr 2026
Revesby parish marks Divine Mercy Sunday after arrival of St Faustina relic

Revesby parish marks Divine Mercy Sunday after arrival of St Faustina relic

Divine Mercy being celebrate at St Luke’s Parish in Revesby with the relic of St Faustina being displayed alongside the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. Photo: Patrick J Lee. St Luke’s Parish in Revesby marked Divine Mercy Sunday on 12 April with Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and veneration of a first-class relic of St Faustina Kowalska, six months […]

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14 Apr 2026
Sydney-based Chaldean archbishop elected global patriarch

Sydney-based Chaldean archbishop elected global patriarch

Chaldean Archbishop Amel Nona, now elected Patriarch Mar Paul III Nona, pictured in his presbytery in 2021. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © Archbishop Amel Nona, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St Thomas the Apostle in Australia and New Zealand, has been elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church.  The Synod of Bishops elected Archbishop Nona on 12 […]

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