Extended Curia, St Mary’s Cathedral House Chapel, 28 April 2026 In today’s Gospel, Jesus is in the Temple on the winter Feast of Dedication or Hannukah (Jn 10:22-30)—a feast of lights that, sadly, due to the Bondi massacre will always have a resonance of darkness more than light for us here in Sydney.Shabbat, the Saturday […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 26 APRIL 2026 Sheep and goats. They were crucial for Ancient Near Eastern communities: the health of the flock determined the wealth, even survival, of the individual, tribe, nation. And so, to call God ‘the Shepherd of Israel’ was to say He cared deeply about our welfare. Psalm 23, The Lord […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Annunciation. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text for the Homily of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, 25 March 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. Every now and then, a single sentence captures an historical moment. We think: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” “I […]
