Keith Patrick Cardinal O’Brien RIP
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Cardinal O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of this Archdiocese, who died on Monday. After discussions between the family of the Cardinal and the Holy See, the funeral arrangements for the late Cardinal are as follows: The Requiem Mass will take place at the Church of St Michael, Westmoreland Road, Newcastle on Thursday 5 April at 1.00pm. As requested by the Holy See, the main celebrant and homilist will be His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. The family have asked that donations be sent to the SCIAF Lenten Campaign in lieu of flowers. The interment of the body of the late Cardinal O’Brien will then take place at Mount Vernon Cemetery, Edinburgh on 6 April at 1.00pm The Cardinal’s body will be laid to rest in the grave of his mother and father. This was in accordance with wishes expressed by Cardinal O’Brien himself. The Archbishop will offer a Month’s Mind Mass here at the Cathedral at 12.45pm on 19 April.
Holy Week and the Easter Triduum
Today we begin the most sacred week of the Church’s year as we commemorate the events which lead to Christ’s death before celebrating with great joy his Resurrection. I would encourage you to come to as many of the services as possible this week, especially the Chrism Mass, where the priests of the Archdiocese will join the Archbishop to renew their priestly promises, and also the beautiful liturgies of the Triduum which will be accompanied by our wonderful choir and organ. The highlight of the Church’s year is, of course, the Easter Vigil. Please do consider coming along to this beautiful and ancient celebration of the Resurrection.
RCIA
At the Easter Vigil we will receive six people into the Church: Ross, Morag, Jennifer, Lesley, Jaimie and Tracey. This is the end of a long journey of faith for them and I ask you to keep them all in your prayers this week as they prepare to make this important step in their lives
Young Adults’ Group – This Wednesday
The series concludes this Wednesday at 7pm in the hall with a talk by Sr Anna Christi of the Nashville Dominican Sisters. Sister will speak on the vocation to religious life, and its contribution to the Church. The sisters are young, dynamic and enthusiastic nuns and passionate about their way of life, so it promises to be a great end to a great series. All under-35s welcome.
God bless you and your families this week, Fr Patrick, Fr Nick, Deacon Peter and Sr Mary Cora