You are cordially invited to a diocesan gathering on Tuesday 7th June 2022 (post Pentecost), commencing with Evening Prayer in St. Mirin’s Cathedral at 7pm, followed by a presentation and discussion of the diocesan synod response in the Cathedral Hall.

The annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Carfin, led by Bishop John Keenan, will take place on Sunday 22nd May 2022. Mass of Anointing of the Sick will be celebrated at 3pm followed by the Rosary Procession which will take place at 5:30pm. Catering facilities are available at the shrine.

The Diocese of Paisley seeks to appoint a Choral Director to initially work in the Catholic Primary Schools of Inverclyde.

Catholic Church and Church of Scotland release “Declaration of Friendship”

The first talk of the series will be on The Holy Trinity by Father Joe McGill. This will take place on Wednesday 27th April at 7pm in St. Mirin’s Cathedral and will be followed by Benediction and an opportunity to socialise over drinks. A list of all other talks can be found on the Diocesan website www.rcdop.org.uk

Bishop John invites you to join him in the Easter Octave celebration of Mass in St. Conval's, our Diocesan Cemetery on Sunday 24th April at 2pm

Bishop John invites the priests and people of the Diocese to celebrate the Chrism Mass with him on Wednesday 13th April 2022 at 7pm in St. Mirin’s Cathedral. This celebration is a great opportunity for us to celebrate and express our faith together. Even more so this year as we have not been able to gather and celebrate this special mass since the beginning of the pandemic. During the Mass the priests of the Diocese will renew their priestly commitment and the oils will be blessed for use in the celebration of the Sacraments throughout the Diocese in the coming year. Refreshments in the Cathedral hall after mass. All welcome.

On Sunday 24 April 2022 we will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at St Mary's Church, 163 George Street, Paisley PA1 2UN beginning with a Holy Hour at 4 p.m. led by Deacon John Morrison and Holy Mass at 5 p.m. celebrated by Bishop John Keenan and Monsignor Joe Burke. Please come along and join us. Remember the promise of the Lord, Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. Our world needs God's mercy more now than ever before. Amen

The proceeds of this collection are divided 75% to SCIAF and 25% to our new St Mirin’s Fund. SCIAF is the official aid and international development charity of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It works in sixteen countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America to help the poorest in the world, regardless of religion, to work their way out of poverty. The St. Mirin’s Fund awards small grants for good causes that promote the Kingdom of God among us, with special consideration to: children and young people, the elderly, those with disabilities and special needs, or suffering from poverty, mental illness, homelessness or refugees.

This week marks the 54th anniversary since the death of Bishop James Black, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Paisley. Holy Mass will be celebrated for the repose of his soul by Bishop John Keenan at 10am on Monday 28th March in St Mirin’s Cathedral. All are welcome to attend and pray for the eternal rest of Bishop Black.

The objective of this Synodal Process is not to provide a temporary or one-time experience of ‘journeying together’, but rather to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long term. The diocese wants to hear YOUR views, and a consultation document with questions that may help direct your response can be found at https://rcdop.org.uk/synod-2021-2023 . To respond, there is an online questionnaire OR you can send any responses to Synod23@rcdop.org.uk before 8th April 2022 – all responses will be acknowledged.

Our Papal Nuncio has confirmed to us that he has been advised that all bishops and priests throughout the world are being requested, if possible, to recite the prayer of consecration of Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with their faithful, simultaneously with the Holy Father next Friday at 4.00pm (5.00pm CET). Bishop John invites the faithful to join him in the prayer of consecration in St. Mirin’s Cathedral at 4.00pm next Friday.

On Friday 25th March a Rosary for Peace in the Ukraine will be held in George Square, Glasgow at 6.30pm. On the day that Pope Francis will concentrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, please come along to George Square at 6.30pm and join with Archbishop Nolan and the other Scottish Bishops in praying the Holy Rosary for Peace in the Ukraine and for all those affected by this tragic conflict.

In March 1982 the Scottish Bishops published a pastoral letter on Peace and Disarmament. In this letter they challenged not just the use of nuclear weapons, something the church has always condemned, but they challenged also the very notion of deterrence and the morality of deterrence. That challenge was not accepted at the time but now more than ever the church has come to recognise that deterrence to is something which is unacceptable. Unacceptable also is the fact that 40 years on these weapons still exist but also that countries are spending vast sums of money making new and worse weapons of destruction – money, resources and personnel that could all be better used building up peace rather than in weapons of war. We commemorate now the 40th anniversary of this document by reading it again today and seeing how relevant it is to our world today. Archbishop Nolan. Please visit https://youtu.be/pn7GrhK6h60

The Lenten series of Masses led by Bishop John will begin after a two-year absence, this Wednesday, 9th March at 7.00pm in St Joseph’s, Greenock. This is for the parishes in the St Columba’s high school cluster. Everyone is invited to attend this Mass celebrated by the Bishop, and joined by the priests and deacons of the area. The next one will take place on Thursday 10th March, the Feast of St John Ogilvie, at St Laurence’s, Greenock at 7.00pm.

There will be a Part One training session taking place on: Wednesday 30th March at 7pm in the Diocesan Offices, Paisley, PA1 1HR Saturday 23rd April at 10.30am in St. John the Baptist Parish Hall, Port Glasgow, PA14 5HD As part of the safe recruitment procedures for the Catholic Church in Scotland, new volunteers undertaking regulated work should complete an application form for their role, apply to become a member of the PVG scheme and attend Safeguarding Part One Training. If you would like to attend one of these training sessions please contact SarahJane Colhoun on 0141 847 6138 or safeguardingadmin@rcdop.org.uk

Join us for our next event on Wednesday 30th March. Fr Eoin Patten will speak about the Sacrament of Confession from 7pm in St Mirin's Cathedral. The event is preceded by Holy Mass at 6pm and followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Afterwards, we will meet for drinks in a local bar. To keep up to date with our schedule of events, connect with us on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Join Fr Ryan for Scripture classes on Tuesdays in Lent from 6pm in St Mirin’s Cathedral Hall. These classes will be introductory and suitable for everyone. They will include Lectio Divina and exegesis. On Tuesday 8th March, our topic is ‘The Passover and the Lord’s Supper’ according to Luke. All are welcome.

For all those who have experienced abuse. Please pray for children, young people and vulnerable adults whose lives have been scarred by the abuse they have experienced at the hands of those whom they trusted. Pray also for all are engaged in the pursuit of peace, healing and reconciliation for the abused, the needy, the weak and the vulnerable. Pray that the work of the new Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency will be guided by the Holy Spirit to help us all to meet our responsibility to respect and safeguard the dignity of all.

This month every household in the country will be contacted about Scotland’s Census. This is the once-a-decade count of the population of Scotland, collecting information about where you stay and the people who stay there, including which religion you belong to. The information you provide in the census, which may be completed online or by post, will help make decisions about how public money will be spent on schools, healthcare, roads and other important services in your local community. It is the go-to data source for social researchers in developing policy and is, therefore, very important. The Scottish Bishops encourage you to complete the census, providing accurate information about yourselves and your households, including your religious affiliation. We invite you to encourage family and friends to complete the census. Please also try to support anyone who might have difficulty either accessing or completing the census to accurately complete the census. Your parishes may wish to consider identifying parishioners who might be able to offer this support. The deadline for completion of the census is 20 March 2022. You can find out more here: Scotland's Census 2022 | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk) You can access resources to help publicise the Census here (includes accessible formats and translations e.g. Polish): Stakeholder promotional materials | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk)