The Fourth Sunday of Advent
Farewell Fr. Robert
As many of you know, Fr Robert has been appointed as Administrator of the Parish of St Mary’s, Stirling and will be leaving us at the beginning of the New Year after three and a half years at the Cathedral and St. Andrew’s. Heartfelt thanks to him for his dedicated service carried out with kindness and good humour. Please keep him in your prayers as he takes on a new challenge. There will be a second collection for Fr. Robert at all Sunday Masses on 27 th /28 th December and a farewell reception for him in Coffee Saints at 5.00pm on Sunday 28th December.
Rorate Mass on Monday at the Cathedral
Our final Rorate Mass for this Advent will be tomorrow, Monday, 22 December at 7:00pm. Rorate Masses with the Mass is only lit by candles, representing Mary's role in bringing the Light of the World into the darkness of the world. Please join us! The Cathedral bookshop will also stay open until 8:00pm tomorrow.
Confessions During Advent
Going to Confession is a wonderful way to prepare for Christmas. Make time to receive the Lord’s healing and forgiveness this Advent. Priests will be available for Confession at the Cathedral at regular Confession times: Saturday, 10:30am-12:00pm and 5pm-6pm. On Monday 22 December,
Tuesday 23 December and Wednesday, 24 December: Confession will be available at approximately 1:15pm, following 12:45pm Mass.
Please note there will be no Confessions on Thursday, 25 th December or Thursday, 1 st January.
Confessions on Saturday, 10 January
Please note that on Saturday, 10 th January, Confessions will conclude at 5:45pm, before the 6:00pm Mass.
Christmas Mass times
The Mass Schedule over the Christmas period is now available through the website, Facebook
page and below. For Christmas, please note the following:
Christmas Eve
5.30pm for Carol Service followed by Vigil Mass – St Andrew’s Ravelston
6:00pm Vigil – St Mary’s Cathedral
9:00pm – Polish Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral
11.15pm for Carol Service and readings, followed by Midnight Mass
Christmas Day
10:00am Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s, Ravelston
12 Noon – Polish Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral
6:00pm – Polish Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral
Mass and Confession times will be as normal over the weekend of 27/28 December.
New Year’s Day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
9.30am Polish Mass – St Mary’s Cathedral
11:00am Mass – St Mary’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s, Ravelston
6:00pm Polish Mass – St Mary’s Cathedral
May the Lord grant you every blessing during the Christmas season!
Volunteers Required for Christmas and New Year Masses
We are particularly in need of volunteers to assist as Passkeepers and Money Collectors over the three Christmas Masses. Passkeepers would need to be registered volunteers, but we can have money collectors who are not registered to help with collections over Christmas. If you can assist, please sign up on the sheets at the passkeepers’ table or contact Elizabeth Andrews at Elizabeth@rhandrews.plus.com – telephone 0131 553 1510.
After Christmas, No 10:00am Cathedral Mass and no 6:00pm Masses at Ravelston Until 5 th January
After Christmas there will be no weekday 10:00am Mass at the Cathedral and no 6:00pm Masses at Ravelston until Monday, 5 January. Adoration & Confessions at Ravelston resume Wednesday, 7 January.
2026 Parish Diaries on Sale
Our 2026 Parish Diaries are here and every month starts with a photo of the Cathedral or St.Andrew’s Church. Sales of the diaries will be after all Masses this weekend for only £10. A great gift for Christmas for all those who you hold dear. Each two-page spread holds entries for the week. Get them while they last!
Bacon Roll Fundraiser Thank You!
A big thank you to our efficient bacon roll team after a very successful bacon roll charity event for the homeless on Sunday, 14 December at St. Andrew, Ravelston, raising £736.80 for Grassmarket Project for the homeless. Thank you especially to our super generous Parishioners who contributed to this amazing amount. We are so fortunate to have your support. Happy Christmas.
Cathedral Building Fund Christmas Appeal
We’ve now raised over £375,000 for our Building Fund Appeal! With the Fund’s current project of the Cathedral’s essential roof works now well underway, we are incredibly grateful to you all for your support! So many of you have also elected to Gift Aid your donations, which allows us to claim a further amount for the Fund. Thank you all.
Donations are gratefully received at any time and can be made:by cash/cheque sent to the Parish Office (61 York Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3JD). Cheques should be made payable to ‘St Mary’s Cathedral’
Do Gift Aid it if you are a UK taxpayer. Blue Building Fund envelopes are available at the back of the church if you wish to Gift Aid your cash or cheque donation. Thank you!
St Andrew’s Talks 2026 — Ask Your Questions About the Faith!
The new series of St Andrew’s Talks will begin on Monday 26th January and for this series, we’d like to give you the opportunity to ask some questions in the Faith. If you have any burning questions that you’d like to explore in more detail then please complete anonymously a slip that you’ll find at the back of St Andrew’s, Ravelston and the Cathedral and pop it in the box. You have until the end of Advent to enter those questions. The new series of talks will be announced at the start of January.
St Pauls Bookshop – Christmas Crib Sets, Cards and More!
St Pauls Bookshop has a beautiful selection of Christmas crib sets, gifts, Bibles, Catholic books for children and adults, Christmas cards, calendars and much more. Shop for your family, friends and loved ones and give a beautiful religious gift this Christmas. Hours from today are:
Sunday 21 December: 10am-5:30pm
Monday, 22 December - 10am-8:00pm
Tuesday, 23 December - 10am-5:30pm
Christmas Eve, 10am-3pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Friday, 26 December: CLOSED
Saturday, 27 December: 10am-5:30pm
Sunday, 28 December: 10am-5:30pm
Monday, 29 December: CLOSED
Tuesday, 30 December: 10am-5:30pm
Wednesday, 31 December: 10am-4pm
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Friday, 2 January: CLOSED
Saturday, 3-6 January: CLOSED for Stocktaking The bookshop reopens Wednesday, 7th January at 10:00am. Contact edinburgh@stpauls.org.uk 0131 510 4260.
Coffee Saints Café
Our very popular Coffee Saints café on Little King Street is a social enterprise partnership between the Cathedral and the Grassmarket Community Project. Every time you make a purchase at Coffee Saints you support some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people. Please note the café will be CLOSED on 24th, 25 th and 26th December and 1st & 2nd January, but other days open the usual hours of 8:30am-4:00pm. View the menu online or book a table at https://www.coffeesaints.co.uk/
Coffee Saints Parishioner Discount Card
Did you know Coffee Saints café offers a Cathedral/St. Andrew's parishioner discount of 10%? Please note that starting on 1st January 2026, a new Parishioner Discount Card new card will be required to continue to receive these benefits. You may start receiving your discount by letting the staff know at the time of checkout that you need to replace your current card. If you use the café’s Coffee Loyalty scheme, you cannot do so while using the Parishioner Discount Card. Thank you for supporting Coffee Saints!
2026 First Holy Communion and Confirmation Registration
Registration is open for catechism classes for children to receive the Sacraments of First Holy Communion (P4) and Confirmation (P7). Catechetical preparation is at St Mary’s Primary School and on Sundays at 9:30am at St. Andrew’s, Ravelston beginning in March for First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
First Holy Communion: https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/first-communion
Confirmation: https://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/confirmation
Questions: frrobert@stmaryscathedral.co.uk
Those attending St Mary’s Primary School will do their sacramental preparation through the school and information will come from St Mary’s separately.
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children Meetings at Ravelston
The SPUC Edinburgh West Branch has recently launched and is looking for new members! The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 14 January at 7:00pm in the parish rooms at St. Andrew’s Ravelston. The Branch exists to implement the pro-life campaigns of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) at the local level. Meeting on a monthly basis, the Branch also presents the opportunity to be with likeminded pro-lifers. If you want to see what you can do to help protect unborn children, then please contact Branch Chair, Sam Ho, at marcolino_ho@hotmail.com
Advent Rosary for Life
This Monday (22 December) at 7:45pm to pray for unborn children, their mothers, and all pro-life intentions. Concludes with a reflection from Archbishop Cushley. Register at bit.ly/rosary25 Mass with Archbishop to Celebrate the Gift of Life Join His Grace, Archbishop Cushley, for Holy Mass as we pray for life to be respected and cherished from conception to natural death. It takes place at midday on Saturday 27 December in St Margaret’s Chapel, The Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB. Registration not essential but helps to plan catering. bit.ly/giftoflife25
Diploma in Catechetics 2026
Explore the richness of the Catholic faith in 2026 by taking the Diploma in Catechetics. The popular course is run by the Archdiocese and takes place at 7:30pm each Thursday on Zoom, starting on 22 January. Content includes: the nature of God, the human person, vocation, salvation history, the Scriptures, Redemption, sacraments, and grace. Cost £220. Parishioners of
St Mary’s Cathedral & St Andrew’s, Ravelston, can apply to the Cathedral for a bursary which covers 50 per cent of the course cost. Email cathedralhouse@stmaryscathedral.co.uk for details.
Register at bit.ly/diploma2026 Watch this short video on the Diploma at bit.ly/diplomareel
Monthly Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life
Please come along after 6:00pm Mass at St. Andrew’s Church, Ravelston on Monday, 12 January, 6:45pm-7:45pm to the convent of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, for a silent Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration to pray for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. Join us in the convent chapel, 77 Belford Road, Ravelston EH4 3DS. In February, the Holy Hour will be on Monday, 9 February and continuing each 2 nd Monday of the month thereafter.
Early Bird Offer for the Order of Malta Ball
A ball to support the work in Scotland and the Holy Land of the Order of Malta, one of the Catholic
church’s oldest and largest charities, will take place on Saturday 25 April 2026. Early Bird tickets are on sale now - more information at www.orderofmaltaball.com, or email Andrew Milligan at andrewecclesia@outlook.com or ask Father Jeremy or John Miers.