Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope,
where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.
~ Pope Francis
Safeguarding – The Holy Name Parish operates at all times in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance, the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and our Diocese’s policies and procedures. Our parish Safeguarding representative is Madeleine Hardy who can be contacted via the parish office (0191) 281 0940. Alternatively, you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding personnel by email at safeguarding@diocesehn.org.uk, by telephone (0191) 243 3305 or via its website
Please remember the following who are ill – Mike Hannon, Fr John Skivington, Frank McCombie, Winifrede McCombie, George Taylor, Bob Murphy and a severely mentally ill person. May the Lord grant them comfort, strengthen them in their weakness, take away their fear and give them his peace.
A Stay in Hospital – If you or any members of your family are going into hospital and would like to see the Catholic Chaplain, please ask a member of the ward staff to contact the Catholic Chaplain. Alternatively, you can contact the Chaplaincy Department Office directly. For the RVI and Freeman Hospitals here in Newcastle, telephone 0191 233 6161 (Catholic Chaplain: Fr Mariadass). In an emergency, please ask the Ward Sister to contact the on-call Catholic chaplain. Please do not contact your own parish priest who will be unable to respond due to hospital protocols.
Prayer for People Critically Ill or Facing Great Uncertainty
God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart,
bring hope and courage to all who wait or work in uncertainty.
Bring them hope that you will make them the equal of whatever lies ahead.
Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
you are God, and we need you.
—Adapted from New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 765
Office Hours – Excluding Bank Holidays, the normal parish office hours are Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm. Emails received outside these times will be answered on the next working day.
Who We Are – Our parish has a growing, talented congregation – growing in the numbers taking part in Mass, in the diversity of participants, including young families, and in the range of social, spiritual and cultural activities. Everyone is welcome to join us. The average number of people taking part in Mass over the four weekends of October 2025 was 285.
In our parish we currently have a total of 96 people carrying out 30 different roles. Would you like to join them? If so, please contact Fr Campion.
An Unjust War -There are very good grounds for saying that the joint attack on Iran by the United States and Israel was reckless, illegal and immoral. The only possible justification – that if successful, it would make the world a better place – depends on a chain of possibilities that are highly implausible … To read more, click here
Sunday 15 March 2026 – Fourth ‘Laetare’ Sunday of Lent
Mothering Sunday – We wish a very happy Mother’s Day to all mothers in our parish and hope they will receive the love, affection and respect they deserve.
A Mother’s hardest to forgive.
Life is the fruit she longs to hand you,
Ripe on a plate. And while you live,
Relentlessly she understands you.
~ Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978)
Mass Times and Intentions 14-22 March 2026
Saturday – Mass 4pm – John Clegg (A)
Sunday – Mass 10am – Thomas Manley (A)
Tuesday – Funeral Mass 10am – Imelda Anderson RIP
Thursday – Funeral Mass 1.30pm – Jenny Fitzgerald RIP
Saturday – Mass 4pm – Molly Hearne RIP
Sunday – Mass 10am – Terry McMillan (A)
Confessions – After every weekday Mass and Saturday 3.30 – 350pm. The communal celebration of the Sacrament is on Tuesday 24 March at 6pm.
Requiescant in Pace– Please remember in your prayers Imelda Anderson (wife of Michael) whose Requiem Mass will take place here on Tuesday at 10am; and Jenny Fitzgerald whose Requiem Mass will be here on Thursday at 1.30pm.
Today is the Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by conspirators in 44 AD. The ambitious Julius had a tense relationship with the Roman Senate which felt he was a threat to the Republic, and that he had tyrannical leanings. Senators Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus formed a group called the Liberators, who met in secret to conspire against Julius. Several assassination plots were put forward but finally they settled on attacking him at a meeting of the Senate in the Theatre of Pompey. In the days leading up to the assassination, several people warned Caesar not to attend the meeting of the Senate. Even his wife, Calpurnia, begged him not to go on the basis of a dream she had had, but Brutus convinced him that it would be unmanly to listen to gossip and the pleadings of a mere woman. So Julius set off and, according to Plutarch, he passed a seer on his way. The seer had recently told Julius that great harm would come to him on the Ides of March. Julius recognized the seer, and quipped, “The Ides of March have come.” The seer remarked, “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.” When Julius arrived at the Senate, he was set upon by Brutus, Cassius and the others, who stabbed him. He slowly bled to death and for several hours afterward his body was left where he fell. The assassination that was meant to save the Republic actually resulted, ultimately, in its downfall. It sparked a series of civil wars and led to Julius’ heir, Octavian, becoming Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor and who reigned at the time of Christ’s birth.
Prison Talk: Matthew 25, 36-39 – On Tuesday at 7pm in the parish hall, Gavin Hardy (our organist) will be giving a talk on the work he has been doing in the prison service. Everyone knows that prisons exist, and everyone has a view about sending people there. How is the British prison system organised, what is the role of prisons (other than simply to take away an individual’s freedom for a set length of time), and what is life like in a prison? What part does the prison chaplaincy play in fulfilling this role? What is the purpose of visiting prisoners? More importantly, how can one be encouraged to become involved in this work? All are welcome and no booking is required. Donations, if desired, will be for the St Oswin’s Project which transforms the lives of offenders through mentoring, training and meaningful employment.
The Grace of Alzheimer’s
My mother lived with Alzheimer’s disease for at least twenty-eight years before she died. Or at least that’s when I first began to realise that something was terribly wrong with her. ‘The woman you know,’ I told a friend in the midst of my confusion, ‘is not the woman who raised me.’ First she lost the bubble of her laugh and the balance in her personality, then little by little she lost her emotional control, then slowly, slowly she lost her sharp, stiletto-like mind, then, finally, she lost her speech. Was her life useless? Where was almighty God then? The answer became more clear every day of those twenty-eight years. The almighty power of God was in the rest of us who gave her the care, the security, the attention she needed even when she could not give it back. She brought us all to be better people. God was clearly almighty still. Intrusive, no; almighty, yes.
~ Sr Joan Chittister, In Search of Belief, 1999
Missa De Angelis – For Sunday Mass now we are singing the Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy), Sanctus (Holy, Holy) and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) from the Missa de Angelis (Mass of the Angels). Dating back to the Middle Ages, it’s the best-known Mass setting and is considered one of the most beautiful and popular Gregorian chants used during Mass. Leaflets with the texts and notations are inside the hymn books.
Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day, the annual feast day celebrating a patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was born around the year 385, in a village in Wales. When he was 16, a group of Irish pirates raided his village and took many of the young men back to Ireland to work as slaves. Patrick worked for six years as a herdsman in the Irish countryside. In his sixth year, he escaped and made his way back to Wales. But, according to his autobiography, soon after he got back home he heard a voice telling him to go back to Ireland and convert the Irish to Christianity. That’s eventually what he did, but first he went to France to visit monasteries and study religious texts. After 12 years in France, he went back to Ireland, where he founded monasteries, schools, and churches and converted much of the island to Christianity.
I am first of all a simple country person, a refugee, and unlearned.
But before I was brought low, I was like a stone lying deep in the mud.
Then he who is powerful came and in his mercy pulled me out,
and lifted me up and placed me on the very top of the wall.
That is why I must shout aloud
in return to the Lord for such great good deeds of his,
here and now and forever,
which the human mind cannot measure.
So be amazed, all you people great and small who fear God!
You well-educated people in authority, listen and examine this carefully.
Who was it who called one as foolish as I am
from the middle of those who are seen to be wise
and experienced in law and powerful in speech and in everything?
If I am most looked down upon, yet he inspired me, before others,
so that I would faithfully serve the nations with awe and reverence in truth and with humility to the end. ~ from The Confession of St Patrick
CAFOD Collection – Donations received so far have amounted to £1,319. CAFOD will be able to Gift Aid some of the donations as well. If you still wish to make a donation, please use one of the CAFOD envelopes available at the back of church and place it in the Offertory basket.
Wednesday is the birthday of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, born 1844, a Russian composer, teacher, and editor who was at his best in descriptive orchestrations suggesting a mood or a place.
Refugee Care – Recently there has been an increase in number of refugees who become homeless when they are discharged from hotel accommodation after receiving Leave to Remain. The SVP has constantly responded to this situation with sleeping bag provision, but they need more now. If you have any spare, please bring them to John Waddell 210 Osborne Road 01912815143 or directly to SVP Blackfriars, Newbridge St NE1 2TQ0191 261 6027 stvincentsnewcastle@svp.org.uk
Refugee Project -The next refugee collection will be on Saturday 4 April from 9 to 10am in the hall. The items requested are: cooking oil, sugar, jars of instant coffee, plain white flour, cornflakes, tins of corned beef, dates, nappies sizes 5&6, washing up liquid and unopened toiletries. Spare plastic bags are always welcome.
From Francis to Leo: the Catholic Church in a Change of Era – When Pope Francis died a year ago, the cardinals elected a pope who would continue and deepen his reform, which they said was key to evangelizing today’s world. This is what Francis and now Leo call “the change of era” — a new apostolic age. In this lecture on Saturday 16 May at 11am, Pope Francis biographer and Catholic journalist Dr Austen Ivereigh explains the nature of the Francis-Leo transition, how the Church is being called to change its way of operating, and why it matters for the future of faith in these islands.
Poetry Group – The next meeting is on Wednesday at 7pm in the hall with the topic ‘Grief’. All are welcome.
Wednesday is the birthday of poet Wilfred Owen, born in Shropshire in 1893. When he was young, his family was well-off, living in a house owned by his grandfather, a prominent citizen. But then his grandpa died, and it turned out that the old man was broke, and the family had to leave and move into working-class lodgings in an industrial town. He started writing poems as a boy, and he was good at literature and science, but he didn’t do well enough on his exams to get a scholarship at a university. He enlisted to fight in World War I, and he became a lieutenant. In 1917, he was wounded, diagnosed with shell shock, and sent to a hospital to recuperate. There he met another soldier diagnosed with shell shock, Siegfried Sassoon, who was an established poet and mentored Owen. At the hospital, Owen wrote many of his most famous poems, including “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth.” He was one of the first poets to depict the horrifying realities of war, instead of writing glorified, nationalistic poems. But the next year, he went back to fight, and he was killed in battle at the age of 25.
Dulce et Decorum Est
By Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori. *
* Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
Lifts to Sunday Mass – If you travel to Mass by car, would you be willing to join a rota of drivers who give a lift to Sunday Mass for an elderly person? If so, please let Fr Campion know.
Friday is the feast day of St Cuthbert, born 634 AD, a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. Both during his life and after his death, he became a popular medieval saint of Northern England, with a cult centred on his tomb at Durham Cathedral. Cuthbert is regarded as the patron saint of Northumbria.
Parish Bookstall – The Bookstall in aid of our charities is up and running again in the Hall. Please drop in to have a look on Sunday mornings after Mass. Many thanks to all who have given donations. You can leave any donation of books at the back of church after Mass on Saturday or take them round to the hall on Sunday morning. Many thanks for your generosity. ~ Lynn and Kevin Dresser
Holy Name Book Club – All are welcome to the next meeting on Wednesday 24 March at 7pm to discuss Persuasion by Jane Austen.
Proud Catholics – Our next meeting is on Tuesday at St Andrew’s Catholic Church, Worswick Street, Newcastle NE1 6UW at 7:30pm. We will be discussing our experiences of our faith and being LGBTQ+ in Education. Whether you are/were a teacher, student or staff member, we’d love it if you could join us to share your experience! There will be a Zoom link available.
Friday is the day in 1916 when Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity. When Einstein was asked what he would have done if his theory of general relativity had not held up, he replied, “Then I would have been sorry for the dear Lord. The theory is correct.”
Pastoral Care at Holy Name – We would like to set up a pastoral care team to visit the housebound and frail members of our parish. We hope to gather a group of volunteers who would be happy to help in visiting and supporting as the need arises. If you are no longer able to come to church, you remain important to our community. Those of you who are content with the support of friends and family, perhaps happy to watch the live-streamed Mass, may not feel the need of this service; however, if you or your family or friends feel you might benefit from a friendly visitor and contact with Holy Name, please let us know. You can contact Deacon Jeremy Wynne or Fr Michael at welcome@holynamejesmond.co.uk We also need volunteers. The service could involve social visiting, eucharistic ministry or practical support but it is not expected to be greatly demanding or time-consuming. If you feel that you could help with this project or would like to discuss it, please contact the parish office.
Holy Name Jazz Night – Young or old, and whatever your taste in food, drink and music, you are welcome to the Holy Name Jazz Night in the hall on Saturday 9 May at 7pm with music from 7.30pm. Once again – and by popular demand – music will be by Sharp Collective and international guest vocalist Lindsay Hannon. Tickets, £15 each, include a welcome drink, and can be ordered via welcome@holynamejesmond.co.uk Bring your own snacks. Drinks will be available from the “Donations” bar. All proceeds to the Kabuyanda Charity, which aims to improve health care in a rural area of Uganda.
Nature Notes – A close look at the starlings reveals that spring is upon us. Their winter plumage with its heavy sprinkling of white dots has been exchanged for the bottle green, shining iridescence of the breeding season. The hibernal greyness of their beaks has bloomed into a buttercup yellow. A good way of telling the sexes apart during the breeding season is by the blue colouring at the base of the male’s yellow beak, whilst the female’s cere is pink. Their behaviour alters with spring too. The murmurations, so bold a presence in winter, are dissolved as many members of this community head back to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia and Russia, leaving the native contingent to return to nesting holes in trees and roofs. Jonathan Tulloch, The Times 5 March
DONA Contactless Device – from Michael Howard, Chair of Finance Committee – As they say on the best automated customer relations helplines…..“Thank you for your patience while we’ve introduced our new donation terminals at the back of church”. We are now ready for the “on-boarding parishioners “(more modern talk from the 76 year-old Chair of the Finance Committee) who are already signed-up for Gift Aid via Standing Order arrangements. By one simple process outlined below, you will be able to make donations for charity / special collections and top-up payments for your general contributions to the Holy Name for example, a Christmas “special”. Here’s what to do.
Choose the amount (there are pre-set amounts, but you can choose anything from £1 just to get started)
- Swipe your phone or swipe/insert a payment card
- When prompted, you should complete on screen, simple details of first name surname, post code, house number, e-mail address
- You will then be asked on screen to confirm your details
- And that’s it: as long as you use the same card, every future payment will be accounted for – wherever you have chosen it to go.
Diocesan Pastoral Strategy – Following the recent Open Meeting, a sub-group of the Parish Council has been formed to determine how our parish can work more closely in a sustainable way with other parishes to serve the Mission of the Diocese. This group will report to the Parish Council which, in turn, will report back to the parish. Thank you to all who took part in Wednesday’s meeting.
Parish Council – Members are nominated by parishioners and appointed by the parish priest. Current members are: Clare Robson (Chair), Aaron Gamboa, Dominic Manfredi, Deacon Jeremy Wynne, Sheila Jackson, Susan Carr, Madeleine Hardy (Safeguarding), Michael Howard (Finance), Tony McPhillips, Tessa Burton-Roberts, Nicholas Stonor, John Waddell and Fr Campion (ex officio).
Parish Cookbook – We Need Your Recipes! We are creating a parish cookbook to celebrate the wonderful mix of families, cultures and generations in our community. If you have a well-loved family recipe, a dish from your country of origin, a favourite children’s bake, or even a short story or memory connected to food, we would love to include it. Please send it in! Recipes can be emailed to welome@holynamejesmond.co.uk or handed in at the back of church in a clearly addressed envelope or catch Katherine Vero at the church doorway and give her your email address. Let’s make this a wonderful reflection of our parish life. We will collect as much as we can by Easter so we can start to work on collating and organising recipes. ~ Katherine Vero
Easter Day Egg Hunt – On Sunday 5 April after Mass, we will hold our annual and very popular Easter Egg Hunt. If anyone is willing to donate eggs (Cadbury’s Crème Egg size), please take them to church, the hall or the presbytery anytime. The children will be delighted.
Saturday is the birthday of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, born 1685. His many compositions, including the Brandenburg Concertos and Goldberg Variations are considered some of the finest music ever written. He once said, “I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music.” Bach came from a musical family. His father was a string player, town piper, and court trumpeter, and all of Bach’s siblings played music. Bach learned Latin and sang in the school choir. When he was nine, he lost both of his parents and went to live with his older brother. His brother taught him how to play the clavichord and to write music. He had a beautiful singing voice, which meant he could go to school for free as long as he sang in the boys’ choir. But his voice changed, so he quickly became an organ virtuoso. His compositions were complicated, and sometimes unwieldy, requiring many more instruments than people were used to. During his lifetime, even though he received commissions and was able to make a living, he wasn’t fully appreciated. At the time of his death, his sole estate was listed as “5 harpsichords, 2 tule-harpsichords, 3 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute, a spinet, and 52 ‘sacred books.’” His eldest son immediately began selling off most of his music, piece by piece, after Bach’s death. For 150 years, Bach’s grave at Old St. John’s cemetery in Leipzig went unmarked. His remains were removed in 1894 and moved to a vault inside the church, but that building was destroyed by bombing in World War II. In the 1950s, his remains were moved to St. Thomas Church. (Garrison Keillor)
Jesmond Library Talk: Finding Sanctuary: Creating Natural Gardens in Urban Spaces – As the days become warmer and longer, many people are thinking of spending more time in their gardens. On Thursday 19 March at 6pm Dr Juno Quaintrell talks about urban gardening – how to make the best of limited spaces and how it can help our mental well-being. Admission £3 at the door.
Used Stamps, Medals and Jewellery – To support the work of St Joseph’s Care Home in Elswick, Newcastle, used postage stamps (any country or period), foreign currency (notes and coins from any country), broken or unwanted pieces of gold/silver jewellery, military medals from any conflict and any old stamp albums may be left at the back of church in a marked envelope or dropped off at the presbytery for Barbara, our parish secretary, to deliver to David and Theresa O’Neill. David can be contacted on telephone 0191 264 5771 or email david-oneill3@sky.com
Finance & Buildings Committee – This committee shares with the parish priest in the financial management of the parish. Members have some expertise and experience in financial matters. The current members are: Michael Howard (Chair), John Devine, Stephanie Grant (Health and Safety), Paul Lee, Joan Louw, Tony McPhillips and John Welsh. Clare Robson also sits on the Finance Committee in her role as Chair of Parish Council. New members are always welcome. For further information, contact the Chair on (0191) 281 5769 or any member of the committee.
Dissatisfied? Taking part in Mass at Holy Name should be a prayerful and uplifting experience. If you are dissatisfied with the service you receive or with any aspect of parish life, including its management, please let Fr Campion know. Our members’ satisfaction is paramount. ‘The Christian faithful have the right and even at times, the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters that obtain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known’. (Code of Canon Law 212.3)
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 