Fr Anthony Robbie hosting an Order of Malta dinner in Bondi. Photo: Supplied. Christmas is for some one of the most isolating times of the year, especially in a cost-of-living crisis where families may have to choose between buying gifts and treats for loved ones or buying necessities. Communities including the Order of Malta, St […]
2024 Christmas at the Cathedral with the Elachi family. Photo: Supplied. For Sydney families searching for a magical, affordable Christmas experience, ‘Christmas at the Cathedral’ offers the perfect night out. For Dany Elachi and his family of seven, a summer’s evening at the St Mary’s Cathedral forecourt has become not just a seasonal tradition but […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 4 DECEMBER 2025 The slang name for diamonds is ‘rocks’ as when someone remarks on ‘the size of the rock’ on someone’s finger. It’s an ironic name, given that rocks are cheap and ordinary, and that, strictly speaking, diamonds are not rocks at all: rocks are composites of several minerals while […]
Student catechists with Bishop Daniel Meagher. Photo: Supplied. Some of the archdiocese’s dedicated special religious education (SRE) catechists have been recognised for their years of mission in the annual Archdiocesan Catechist Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Held on 16 November, the Mass honoured 48 SRE catechists who hit milestones in their service, with special recognition for those who had served 20, 25, 40, and 55 […]
Sisters of life visiting St Joachim’s in Lidcombe to help run the Advent retreat. Photo: Patrick J Lee. Women from across Sydney gathered in their hundreds to spend the day with the Sisters of Life at St Joachim’s in Lidcombe, on 29 November, for a rare opportunity to slow down and rediscover the true reason […]
Sydney pilgrims getting ready for Day 2 of ACYF in Melbourne. Photo: Supplied. As Sydney pilgrims prepared for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Melbourne, the Sydney Catholic Youth Team hoped it would help and encourage the youth in one particular area of concern: isolation. They shared that many young people feel like they don’t […]
All liaisons for the International Eucharistic Congress 2028 at a retreat held at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney. Photo: Supplied. From across the country they came: Perth, Geraldton, Darwin, Adelaide, Rockhampton and everywhere in between was represented. From 11-13 November a retreat was held at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney for those men and women appointed […]
Melbourne Convention Centre, 2 December 2025 Over these days something powerful has been moving among you. The hunger for God, the courage to seek Him, the joy in finding Him have been tangible—unmistakable signs of the Holy Spirit at work in this country. More than a feeling, an enthusiasm, an experience: something is being awakened in our […]
AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC YOUTH FESTIVAL (ACYF), MELBOURNE, 1 DECEMBER 2025 Doom scrolling. You’ll be familiar with the concept: going through your app of choice and being confronted with a seemingly endless stream of negative and heartbreaking content. Another war breaking out somewhere, another school shooting, another mass murder. A few days ago the social media was […]
It is in ordinary deeds that we imitate the selfless love of Christ and are conformed to being like Him. It is there that we build up our families, community, Church. Photo: Pexels.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for the Solemn Mass for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), at St […]
The World Youth Day cross and icon are carried through a crowd of pilgrims in Sydney, Australia, July 14. The two symbols of the international Catholic youth gathering were brought to central Sydney following a journey that covered thousands of miles across the island continent. (CNS photo/Tim Wimborne, Reuters) (July 14, 2008) World Youth Day […]
Deacon Peter Van Khuơng Tran at his ordination. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. It’s not often that two men from a single parish are ordained as deacons in a single week. But 2025 was a lucky year for Our Lady of the Rosary parish in the outer western Sydney suburb of Fairfield. On Wednesday, 19 November, Philip Pham, once a refugee from Vietnam, was […]
The Booklet for the ordination to the diaconate for Deacons Philip and Robert. Photo: Patrick J Lee. After years of prayerful discernment and study and with the loving support of their families, Philip Pham and Robert Tonkli were ordained by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP in St Mary’s Cathedral on 19 November. Deacon Pham, 65, and […]
Fr John Iacono and Mark Kazzi. Photo: Supplied. St Charbel’s Maronite Catholic Parish in Punchbowl and a local kickboxing studio have hosted dozens of men seeking a morning of prayer, exercise, and fellowship on 15 November. About 60 men and teens aged from 16 to 45 attended Mass in the church before heading across the […]
