The relic of St Carlo Acutis. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. A four-month mission taking the major pilgrim relic of St Carlo Acutis across Australia ended with families and young Catholics filling St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney for a farewell Mass on 25 October. Children and teenagers stayed back to learn about the first saint with an […]
The Walk with Christ festival will again open the day with music, teaching and fellowship before the Eucharistic procession moves toward St Mary’s Cathedral. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 Martin Place will host a festival of music, catechesis and community ahead of the Walk with Christ procession on Sunday 22 November Each year, Martin […]
Children’s liturgy ministers, (L-R) Luke, Jacqueline, Mary-rose and Fr John Knight. Photo: Supplied. On different weekends, a few volunteers lead the youngest members of their parish out of Mass with a lectionary in hand. Their job is to turn the Gospel into something a five-year-old can hold onto. On 20 October, for the first time, […]
Ordained by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP at St Mary’s Cathedral on 19 November 2025, they were Sydney’s first new permanent deacons since 2020. Photo: Patrick J Lee. From baptising a granddaughter to accompanying grieving parishioners, Deacons Robert Tonkli and Philip Pham have found fresh meaning in familiar acts of faith and service during their first […]
Bishop Tony Percy with Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi, addressing the Tongan Catholic community. Photo: Malakai Sinisa/Courtesy of the Tongan Catholic Chaplaincy/ Giovanni Portelli. Tongan Catholic communities from across Australia gathered in Sydney from 1–4 October to celebrate 50 years of organised pastoral ministry, giving thanks for five decades of faith, service and community life. […]
RCIA and Sacramental Coordinators gather for retreat. Photo: Supplied. With Eucharist 2028 approaching, interest in becoming Catholic is steadily rising across the Archdiocese of Sydney. At All Saints parish in Liverpool, RCIA leader Christine Solomon has watched numbers grow from six inquirers to 18 in just three years. “We’ve seen a lot of bigger numbers curious […]
Walk with Christ will be held on Sunday 22 November, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. When Fr Bijoy Joseph was growing up, Eucharistic processions simply weren’t part of parish life. “It was something that wasn’t exactly in fashion in our parishes,” he said. That changed when […]
Children from the Little Saints Ministry at All Saints parish in Liverpool, filled the church hall with song, prayer and dance. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 They are some of the youngest evangelists in the Archdiocese of Sydney, and on 5 October they stole the show. Children from the Little Saints Ministry at […]
Members of St Joan’s Guild at the Walk with Christ. Photo: Alphonsus Fok With six weeks to go until Walk with Christ, parishes across the Archdiocese of Sydney are preparing for the procession with growing anticipation. On Sunday 22 November, the feast of Christ the King, Catholics from every corner of the city will gather […]
The relic of St. Carlo Acutis’ pericardium on display at St Benedict’s Catholic Church in Chippendale. Photo: Natalie Cox. More than a hundred parishioners, university students and Sydneysiders crowded into St Benedict’s Catholic Church in at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Chippendale campus to venerate and pray before the relics of St Carlo Acutis. […]
A new video from the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation (SCE) captures the night five south-west Sydney parishes decided to stop going it alone and launched a young adults network of their own. Stronger Together: A New Young Adults Leaders Network in the South-Western Suburbs is the sixth in the Parish Renewal Team’s video series exploring […]
Catechists honoured at the annual Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. Photo: Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 Just over four decades ago Marianne Barbara was on her way to hospital to have a baby when a drunk driver ploughed into her car door. “I landed underneath the car,” she […]
Basilica of St Francis, Assisi, 11th October 2026 It’s quite the story (Mt 22:1-14). A rom-com with a difference. After the usual complexities of courtship, the happy couple are ready to tie the knot. They pick a date, secure a celebrant and venue, settle the guest list. So far, so good. But when they send […]
Jesus the Good Shepherd. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of a homily for the feast of St Mary Magdalene, Apostola Apostolorum and co-patroness of the Dominican Order. It was given on 22 July during a retreat for the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia at their motherhouse in Nashville, Tennessee. Forty years ago, I went […]
Fr Dave Callaghan, the new Moderator for the next four years. Photo: Supplied. The Missionaries of God’s Love priests and brothers have elected Fr David Callaghan MGL as their new Moderator, or leader, for the next four years. Originally from Perth, Fr Callaghan has been a member of the MGL for 26 years. He is […]
