Author Archives: stdavidandstpatrick

60 Years of Mary Immaculate School

Mary Immaculate School Logo

Under the direction of Sister Bosco Costigan and Mother Eucharia Keane, 60 years ago this week, a small group of children stated their Catholic education at Haverfordwest. On January 15th 1957, the first ever lesson of the newly established school of Mary Immaculate took place. Deo Gratias!

That event was to change the direction of Catholic Schooling in Pembrokeshire because the County Town now had is own Catholic School perched on the edge of Merlin’s Hill. Originally housed in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, the newly established school started to grow and additional buildings were built. The number of students on the roll increased and not before too long, a thriving community was established.

As time has passed there have been many successes recorded for the school, but also some setbacks too. Nevertheless, in all things God’s providence has given time for growth and development. Who can forget the tears when the sisters left and returned to Ireland, the joy and pride of the school band when they played for the Pope in Rome and the stunned despair when buildings were burnt down and work went up in smoke.

And yet today, pupils, parents and staff, both past and present, came together to celebrate our common heritage of all that has been and to usher in, with God’s blessing, all that will be.

As we look to the past history of Mary Immaculate School, may we be inspired with confidence to continue our mission together of “living and learning in the light of Christ.”

The Art of Dying Well

dying-well

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference have launched a new website for the month of November, the moth of the Holy Souls. Called ‘The Art of Dying Well‘ the site offers support to those grappling with issues around the meaning of death and dying. Based in the Catholic tradition, but open to all, it features real-life stories about dealing with the journey through death to eternal life.

The site is for those who are dying, their friends and family, for carers and makes a contribution to the national debate. Expert advice has been sought from professionals in palliative care, ethics, chaplaincy, history and media.

 

Here is a video clip from the website which looks at the journey of one man’s terminal illness.

Year of Mercy Week of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees

Lamp Cross

Seemingly small acts can make a massive difference. One example of this is Francesco Tuccio, a carpenter from the small Italian island of Lampedusa. When hundreds of refugees who were fleeing Eritrea and Somalia drowned off the coast of Lampedusa, he was moved to gather the driftwood from the wrecked boats and turn them into crosses, which he offered to survivors as a small but powerful symbol of hope.

Pope Francis carried one of the Lampedusa crosses at a memorial Mass to commemorate people who have died, and the British Museum is now displaying a Lampedusa cross as a reminder to people of the refugee crisis the world is facing.

One such cross is visiting our parish in September and will serve as a focus of prayer as we conclude the Extrodinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

We will hear a talk from CAFOD on the year of Mercy as the cross arrives to Haverfordwest. There will be a Holy Hour with Benediction and the oportunity to make a our personal messages known to the mingrant population on prayer cards. A evening votive Mass will conclude our week of prayer.

Week of Prayer from Thursday 22nd September to Wednesday 28th September.

 

Lamp Cross 2

A letter to the Princess Royal

Princess Anne is patron of many charities and organisations. One of her charities, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), has recently changed direction in one of its policies. The chief executive of the organisation, Prof. Cathy Warwick, has stated that the RCM now supports the British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s (BPAS) campaign to change the law and allow abortion, up to birth, for any reason. It should be noted that Prof. Warwick is also a trustee of the BPAS.

Many Midwives are rightly upset by this decision because they were not consulted about the change in policy and feel that their job is to support mothers before, during and after pregnancy. Indeed, many who are pro-abortion have criticised Prof. Warwick’s stance. Dr Pemberton is an NHS psychiatrist and a columnist for the Mail, he himself has assisted in abortions and has said he couldn’t understand “how anyone who knows the full facts about abortion could countenance such a grotesque idea” He went even further saying, that he “unreservedly” supports a woman’s right to choose, but added “many doctors are uncomfortable about the current cut-off”. “In the same hospital where we are trying to save a premature baby born at 23 weeks, a woman down the corridor is legally allowed to undergo a late-stage abortion on a foetus of the same gestation.”

Dr Pemberton warned that it is “so chillingly easy to treat abortions as being like any other operation”, adding: “Cathy Warwick’s proposals chill my blood. If I were a midwife, she would be the last woman on earth I’d want to speak in my name.”

The Catholic Church is quite clear that all life is of supreme value and should be nurtured from conception to natural death. Therefore, please add your name to the petition which is trying to reverse the RCMs new stance: Follow this link

In wanting to highlight these issues, Fr Liam has sent a letter to Princess Anne, one of the Royal Patrons of the RCM. To read the letter click the image below.

Letter

 

 

‘Phone fault

'phone

Please be aware that the parish telephone number has now been out of action for over a week. The fault has been reported to BT who had an engineer scheduled to visit the property today. Alas, owing to a lack of staff, there was no engineer available. A further appointment has now been made for Monday 9th May.

Both Fr Owen and Fr Liam are exceptionally dissipated with the service offered by BT and have made complaints. Please do continue to be patient.