Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP giving his Homily at Christmas Mass 2025. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 This is the edited text of the homily for the morning Mass of the Nativity of the Lord at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 25 December 2025. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We […]
Mass to commemorate Eileen O’Connor on the 105th anniversary of her death. Photo: Supplied. Dozens of the faithful have braved Sydney’s heat to commemorate Eileen O’Connor on the 105th anniversary of her death. The memory of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor (OLN) co-founders O’Connor and Fr Tim McGrath MSC was honoured in the Mass held in St Brigid’s parish in […]
Premier of NSW Chris Minns. The government announced an inquiry by the lower house law and safety committee on 22 December, with comments due by 12 January, and recommendations submitted to parliament by 31 January. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025. The NSW Government’s inquiry into a law banning phrases like “globalise the intifada” should […]
Eileen’s tomb 10 January 2026. Photo: Supplied. Sometimes it’s taking a stroll in a client’s local surroundings, absorbing the environment, and having a conversation. Sometimes it’s a simple coffee catch-up. Sometimes it’s just presence. Eileen O’Connor’s Brown Nurses help disadvantaged people in Sydney to cope with chronic and complex health, cultural and social care challenges. They have been doing it for more than 100 years. Even though she was seriously disabled by a spinal condition, O’Connor […]
Bishop Daniel Meagher confirming the four children. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 Four Aboriginal children were confirmed by Bishop Daniel Meagher at the Reconciliation Church in in La Perouse just before Christmas. The four went through a unique sacramental program designed by the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry (ACM). While their preparation was similar to other programs across […]
Fr Chris de Sousa CRS leading the procession. Photo: Supplied. Hundreds of families from Sydney’s west made the trip to the shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Penrose Park in celebration of the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The annual visit by parishioners of St Joseph’s Moorebank and St Christopher’s Holsworthy was part of the Somascan Christmas pilgrimage […]
Chris Meney with wife Mary Clare. Photo: Marilyn Rodrigues. Chris Meney has been a steady and trusted presence in the day-to-day life of Sydney’s Catholic community for more than a decade, serving as the first lay chancellor of the Archdiocese of Sydney. Now retiring to spend more time with his large family, he says he and his wife Mary Clare are open […]
Santo Nino has become a focal point for devotion, bringing a centuries-old Filipino tradition to Revesby. Photo: Supplied For the third-year running, St Luke’s Parish in Sydney’s south-west has welcomed the community to celebrate Señor Santo Niño de Cebu, the Holy Child Jesus, on 18 January with a 10am Mass followed by a fiesta. The […]
Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness – painting by Annibale Carracci (MET, 2009.252). Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text of the homily of the Lourdes day Mass for the Order of Malta at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney 6 December 2025. A recent McCrindle report offers a fascinating snapshot of trends in naming our bubs. For over […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 28 DECEMBER 2025 In Rembrandt’s painting of the Holy Family with Angels (1645), now in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, we witness a thoroughly domestic scene.[1] The context is not in the Bethlehem stable but Joseph’s workshop, where the carpenter is bent over his bench, surrounded by his tools, and […]
St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 25 December 2025 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We all know the biblical story of creation (Gen chs 1 & 2), in which God made this magnificent universe for us, and made us in His own image, free, intelligent and loving, so we might flourish according […]
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP blesses worshippers as he exits St Mary’s Cathedral following midnight Mass for Christmas 2022. The Mass is traditionally one of the most-attended in St Mary’s Cathedral throughout the year. Photo: Giovanni Portelli This year was the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, one of the most pivotal gatherings in Christian […]
The series, called Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well, is a video program from the Augustine Institute and will be presented by Willow Tree Funerals funeral director Bruce Missen. Photo: Pexels.com. In an effort to help relieve anxiety and stress surrounding death, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Varroville will be hosting a four-part series on death and the afterlife. The series, called Eternal Rest: […]
Members of the New South Wales Faith Affairs Council and faith leaders in a 15 December emergency meeting convened by Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper. Photo: Supplied. The New South Wales Faith Affairs Council is inviting Australians to undertake an act of kindness, compassion, or charity to bring light into the world and honour the victims […]
Opening of Christmas at the Cathedral 2025. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 Amidst one of the darkest weeks in Sydney’s history, the opening night of Christmas at the Cathedral saw Sydney’s mother church become a beacon of healing and unity. Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP hosted a memorial prayer service attended by Prime Minister […]
