PILGRIMAGE 2025, THE HOLY YEAR: ROME, ASSISI AND SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO

Webmaster • December 22, 2024

Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a ‘Holy Year’. This means that everyone who visits Rome next year, who prays for the intentions of the Holy Father, celebrates holy Mass and Reconciliation, is promised many special blessings from the Lord. The tradition is that this happens only once every 25 years!


With the great help of Adrian and his ‘Northern Star’ Travel Agency, I have negotiated a superb deal to enable us to stay in the Eternal City of Rome next year. Not only that, but also to visit and stay in two other amazing locations, Assisi and its connection with St Francis and St.Clare, as well as visiting and staying in St Giovanni Rotondo where the holy priest who was given the wounds of Jesus (Stigmata)St Padre Pio, lived and ministered.


We will spend 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Assisi and 3 nights in San Giovanni Rotondo. A taste of what we will do: Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, holy Mass in St John Lateran Basilica, visit the Catacombs, Papal Audience, Tour of Rome - churches of St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Walls, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Navona Square etc, etc; holy Mass in Basilica of St Francis, holy Mass in the Basilica of St Clare, visit Porziuncola, San Damiano, Loreto; guided tour of San Giovanni, visit chapel of the Stigmata,Pietrelcina.


Lots of free time for relaxing, looking around, shopping


Excellent quality hotels for Dinner, Bed, Breakfast; all excursions, English-speaking guide; Outward flight: Gatwick-Rome(9.30am), Return flight: Bari-Gatwick(4.55pm); all airport duties and passenger taxes


28th April to 7th May 2025. A week after Easter. A perfect time to visit Rome and Italy when the climate is ideal, not too hot and not cold.


Cost: £1400pp all inclusive.


Rome and Italy will be very busy for the Holy Year and prices will soar! We are really blessed to have arranged such a great itinerary at such a relatively modest and very economic cost. I suspect that there will be lots of interest in this pilgrimage and it’s quite possible that we will have to limit numbers. I hope to offer this pilgrimage to various people and groups. If you are seriously interested, I suggest you contact me as soon as possible. I have Booking Forms available now.

By Webmaster April 22, 2025
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To everyone who helped in so many different ways during Holy Week and on Easter Day. May the good Lord reward you for all your great efforts.
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By WEBMASTER April 20, 2025
Tue 22: Maggie Wed 23: Collette Thu 24: John Fri 25: David
By Webmaster April 14, 2025
Tuesday 15th April at 6.0 0pm If you haven’t yet, during Lent, experienced the gentle forgiveness of God in this wonderful Sacrament, please come and allow the loving Lord to fill you  with his peace so that you will be ready to enter into Easter Joy.
By Webmaster April 14, 2025
NEW DATES FOR THE MEETINGS OF PARENTS OF CHILDREN PREPARING FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION AND FIRST HOLY COMMUNION Sat 26th April: 10.00 – 10.30am Sat 10th May: 10.00 – 10.30am FIRST RECONCILIATION: Sat 17th May: 10.00 – 10.30am Fri 30th May: 5.00 – 5.30pm Fri 6th June: 5.00 – 5.30pm Fri 13h June: 5.00 – 5.30pm Fri 20th June: 5.00 – 5.30pm  Sun 22nd June FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI 11.00AM HOLY MASS – FIRST COMMUNION
By Webmaster April 14, 2025
During the course of the Last Supper, the first holy Mass, Jesus dramatically showed his friends how to love, by washing their feet. During our holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, on Thursday evening, I would like to bathe the feet of 12 members of our congregation, as a sign of how much Jesus loves them and loves every one of us. Please allow me to bathe your feet. We need 12 people, women and men, young and not so young. Please put your name on the sheet which you will find in the porch of the church, if you will help me with this ceremony.
By Webmaster April 14, 2025
This week is the most important week in the year for all who follow the Lord Jesus as Christians. The secular world thinks only of Bunnies, Easter Eggs, more Food and Entertainment. While those things are fine and we can rightly enjoy them at the right time, they must never take the place or be more important than what our Blessed Lord offers us in Holy Week and Easter. This is the week above all others, each year, to put what the Lord Jesus asks of us before everything else. This week, by the grace of Almighty God, we have the opportunity, over 2000 years later, to join the Lord Jesus in the final days of his life in this world, as he suffers, dies and rises from the dead to give us forgiveness for our sins and eternal life beyond the grave. Please come to holy Mass on Maundy Thursday and be with him as he shows us how to love and gives us the strength to do so. Give him some time after holy Mass and before Midnight to “watch and pray” Please come to the solemn, sacred liturgy of Good Friday at 3.00pm, the exact hour he is reputed to have died, after hours of torture and suffering to show the depth of his love for you. Please come to the beautiful, inspiring Easter Vigil and First holy Mass of Easter Sunday at 8.30pm on Saturday evening, to renew your Baptismal promises, to allow the light and joy and peace of the risen Lord fill your soul. In addition to the above ‘Triduum’ (3) sacred Services which are celebrated by everyone who has a real and deep love for the Lord, there are 2 other times in Holy Week to be close to him: A short, brief ‘Walk of Witness’ on Good Friday morning when we will be joined by people of other Christian Churches in Sanderstead. We will begin at 11.45am and walk along Sanderstead High Street. One of our parishioners will carry a cross, as the Lord himself did, to remind all those who see us of the meaning of Good Friday. The whole Walk and final prayers on the ‘Gruffy’ will only last 30 minutes.  A simple, short, outdoor Service by the side of our church, as dawn breaks, to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord. We will light a fire and pray in thanksgiving to the Lord as the light of day comes upon the sleeping world. Afterwards, a cup of hot tea or coffee in the Cafe. We will be joined by members of other Christian communities in Sanderstead.
By Webmaster April 13, 2025
Please could you help with 30 minutes of your time to clean our church for Easter. Please come on the morning of Saturday the 19th April at 9.30am. Thank you for this humble service which in itself is a beautiful prayer to the Lord.
By Webmaster April 13, 2025
PALM SUNDAY Sat 12 April: 5.00pm Readings/Bidding Prayers Phil Passion Paul(Narrator), Patricia(People) Sun 13 April: 9.00am Readings/Bidding Prayers Chinwe. Passion Gerry(Narrator), Lorenza(People) 11.00am Readings/Bidding Prayers Claire Passion Jim(Narrator), Mutsa(People) MAUNDY THURSDAY Thu 17 April: 8.00pm First Reading Lisa. Second Reading/Bidding Prayers Marian GOOD FRIDAY Fri 18 April 3.00pm Readings Gerry. Passion Paul(Narrator). Jim(People) EASTER Sat 19 April 8.30pm Reading 1 Lorenza; Reading 3 Lisa; Reading 5 Lizzie; Reading 7 Paul New Testament Reading/Bidding Prayers Jim Sun 20 April 9.00am 1st Reading Gerry; 2nd Reading/Bidding Prayers Collette 11.00am 1st Reading Chinwe; 2nd Reading/Bidding Prayers Patricia
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