Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope,where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.
~ Pope Francis
Who We Are – Our parish has a growing, talented congregation – growing in the numbers taking part in Mass (30% rise in the past three years), in the diversity of participants, including young families, and in the range of social, educational, spiritual and cultural activities. Everyone is welcome to join us.
If you are not a regular churchgoer but are searching for a spiritual home where you can find acceptance and God’s healing love, you will be especially welcome. You may be hesitant about doing this if you are visiting Holy Name for the first time or, perhaps, returning to church after an absence. If this is the case, and you so wish, our parish priest, Fr Michael Campion, would be happy to meet privately with you beforehand.
Please remember the following who are ill – Christopher Robson, Anne Laws, Tessa Stevens, Malcolm Gregor, Claire Holloway, Diana Ross Richards, Mike Hannon, Frank McCombie and the Reverends John Coyle, Andrew Faley, John Skivington, Ronnie Brown, Syd Riley, Seamus McGivern, Bernard Pitt and Deacon Michael Rowell. May the Lord grant them comfort, strengthen them in their weakness, take away their fear and give them his peace.
Our Parish Priest
Our Parish Deacon
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, 19/20 September 2026
Monday is the feast of St Matthew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to many Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. He is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew 9:9 and Matthew 10:3 as a tax collector who, while sitting at the Customs House in Capernaum, was called to follow Jesus. Here is one of the most famous depictions of this encounter.
Mass Times and Intentions – 19 – 26 September 2026
Saturday – Mass 4pm – Peter Watson RIP
Sunday – Mass 10am – Pro Populo
Tuesday – Mass 10am – Pat Brennan
Thursday – Holy Communion Service 10am (in the hall)
Saturday – Mass 4pm – Pro Populo
Sunday – Mass 10am – Hilda Pentland RIP
Baptism and First Communion – We welcome into the family of the Church Valentina Sara Bonanni, aged 10, daughter of Michele and Mariana, who is being baptised this Saturday (19 September) and making her First Holy Communion at Sunday Mass.
Home Mission Sunday – This weekend we celebrate Home Mission Sunday, the annual day for the Catholic community in England and Wales to pray and look for ways in which we can do our part in sharing the beauty and joy of our faith.
The retiring collection will be to support the work carried out by the Bishops’ Conference Mission Directorate, a team based at the bishops’ Secretariat in Eccleston Square, London, which supports the bishops in their work to promote the proclamation of the Gospel across England and Wales. More details about this can be found on the Bishops’ Conference website here. ~ Abbot Hugh Allan O.Praem, Director of Mission
Assisted Suicide Bill – I welcome the House of Commons vote rejecting the Assisted Dying Bill. Our Parliamentary representatives have been able to look again at this very flawed Bill and have rightly rejected it. The Bill was contrary to dignity of the human person and very alarmingly failed to safeguard the vulnerable. As a society we should be concentrating resources on caring not killing. “In thanking all who voted against this Bill, I also thank all the House of Lords members and medical organisations who argued so persuasively of the dangerous inadequacy of this proposed legislation.~ Bishop Stephen Wright
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
Tuesday is the anniversary of the death of Yogi Berra, born 1925, the famous American professional baseball player, manager and coach who was a key player for the New York Yankees for 18 years. However, in more recent years he has become better known for amusing non sequiturs, which came to be termed “Yogi-isms.” Examples include statements such as “It’s déjà vu all over again,” “You can observe a lot by watching,” “The future ain’t what it used to be,” “Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical” and, my favourite, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Our Catholic Schools – We offer a warm welcome to Catherine Craig, Diocesan Director of Education, who is speaking at Masses this weekend about the work of our schools and how we can support their mission.
Wednesday is the birthday of Bruce Springsteen, born 1949, the American singer, songwriter, and bandleader who became the archetypal rock performer of the 1970s and ’80s. With his poetic lyrics describing the lives of everyday Americans, his commercial rock sound, and his high-energy concert performances, Springsteen established himself as one of the leading figures of American music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Springsteen wrote and dedicated the following to his close friend and Australian music promoter Michael Gudinski who died in 2021.
Holy Name Death Café – What is a Death Café? They are held all over the world. They all have some things in common: a gathering of people, welcomed by hosts who provide beverages and cake, with no charge to attend, and the opportunity to discuss any aspect of dying and death. Some people focus on grief and bereavement, some think about funeral arrangements, some discuss their wishes about care at the end of life. Sometimes a speaker is invited, often the topics just arise in conversation.
At Holy Name’s last Death Café somebody brought their will to be witnessed, people asked questions about the process of dying, some people wanted to know more about talking to children about death, and others discussed (and hummed) their funeral hymns. We drank tea, the cake was excellent, and we sat in small groups with friends we already knew or new friends we met that day. It was an uplifting afternoon and several people asked us to do it again – so we will.
Join us on Saturday 14 November in Holy Name Church Hall at 2pm. We will provide the cakes and beverages, we will suggest a few topics and, like last time, the conversation will follow your lead as we get warmed up. We’ll finish just before 4pm, in time for Mass for those who would like to attend. Everyone is welcome, from age 16 to 100+. ~ Kathryn Mannix
The Newman Tyneside Circle invites you to come and hear Pat Devlin speak on World Week for Peace in Palestine & Israel, in the Holy Name Hall on Monday at 7.30pm. The theme for this year’s WWPPI highlights the trauma experienced by children in Palestine & Israel. The talk will move from examining the tragedy unfolding in the current situation to the hope found in the joint Palestinian/Israeli groups committed to working together for a Just Peace for all and will conclude with practical suggestions for how we in the UK can contribute to that work. Pat Devlin is a retired community development worker who has spent two three-month periods in the West Bank on the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme, monitoring human rights abuses and providing a protective presence. Since returning, she has maintained contact with grassroots communities and movements and is an active member of Sabeel-Kairos UK, an organisation working with UK churches to respond to the calls from Palestinian Christians in their Kairos documents. ~ Michael Kerrigan
Season of Creation – A Cake and Plant Sale to fundraise for the Northumberland Wildlife Trust purchase of the Rothbury Estate will take place in the hall after Mass next Sunday, 27 September. This worthwhile appeal, supported by Sir David Attenborough, ends this month and all funds raised to then will be doubled by a sponsor. Please contact Ruth Gibson on 07943 710 345 if you are willing to help on the day or to donate plants or cakes.
Journey in Faith Course at Holy Name – Holy Name will once again be offering a Journey in Faith course this autumn. It would be of benefit to all but especially to adults who may wish to be received into the Catholic Church, Catholics wishing to know more about their faith, and non-Catholics who would like to know more but, at this stage, do not wish to become Catholic. The meetings will be mostly via Zoom on a Thursday evening. An initial meeting to find out more about the course will take place in Holy Name Church after Mass on Sunday 8 November and lasting about half an hour. For further information or to express an interest in joining the course please contact Deacon Jeremy Wynne at jeremy.wynne@diocesehn.org.uk
Thursday is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Walsingham, a title given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by Catholics, high-church Anglicans and Western Rite Orthodox Christians. According to tradition, the title is linked to a Marian vision experienced in 1061 by Lady Richeldis de Faverches, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and widow, in the village of Walsingham, Norfolk, England. In the vision allegedly seen by Lady Richeldis, the Blessed Virgin Mary showed her the Holy House in Nazareth and commissioned her to construct a counterpart in Walsingham, dedicated to the sacred mystery of the Annunciation. During the Middle Ages, Walsingham grew into one of England’s most significant pilgrimage destinations, attracting royalty and commoners alike. Though the original shrine was dismantled during the English Reformation, the tradition of pilgrimage to Walsingham was revived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and it remains a significant centre for devotion among both Catholics and Anglicans.
Young Adult Group at Holy Name – Holy Name Parish would like to start a Young Adult Group to provide an opportunity for those between the ages of 18 to 35 to connect with one another in a faith-based community, learn more about their faith, develop a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, and have some fun times along the way. We envisage that the group would meet monthly in the Parish Hall. We encourage all our young adults in the 18 to 35 age range to attend an initial meeting taking place at 7pm on Thursday 22 October in the Parish Hall on Towers Avenue. At this meeting we will discuss our hopes and plans for the Young Adult Group. Food will be provided so please email welcome@holynamejesmond.co.uk if you are attending. ~ Deacon Jeremy Wynne
Mission Appeal – Last week’s collection to support the work of the Columban Missionaries amounted to £1,230. Fr Pat O’Beirne, the Columban Missionary priest who made the appeal, is most grateful for such generosity. You can still make a donation through the contactless card readers in church. You also can read about Fr Pat’s own ministry in Taiwan and now in the UK here. Thank you for such great generosity.
Sacrament of Penance (Confession) – Saturdays 3.30 – 3.50pm and after every weekday Mass.
Climate Denial – You might expect climate denial to be a thing of the past. Sadly, some people remain unconvinced, and some deniers hold positions of power. That is why a group of leading UK scientists and experts met in London last November to raise public and political awareness of the climate crisis. They presented evidence of the scale of the threat and possible solutions. Their aim was to build enough public pressure to force the government to confront the problem directly. The meeting and contributions were filmed, and we will show The People’s Emergency Briefing in the parish hall at 7pm on Wednesday. Introduced by Chris Packham, the film is interesting, informative, frightening, but ultimately hopeful. ~ Patrick Harrigan
The Via di Francesco: The Way of St Francis – In June Deacon Jeremy, his son, Thomas, and brother-in-law, Lance, walked 105km of the pilgrim’s route The Via di Francesco ending up in the Umbrian town of Assisi. Assisi is famous as the birthplace of St Francis and St Clare. To walk in the footsteps of St Francis, Deacon Jeremy says, “is to come to experience his virtues – deep humility, radical simplicity, prayer, service, and respect for nature.” Deacon Jeremy, Lance, and Thomas will be giving a talk on their pilgrimage walk at Holy Name Parish Hall on Tuesday 29 September starting at 7pm. All are very welcome to attend to learn more about the life of this beloved saint and why our pilgrims wanted to undertake this pilgrimage in this, the 800th anniversary of his death.
Walking Group – Thirteen walkers recently enjoyed a wonderful walk around Wall in Northumberland. We were treated to beautiful scenery, one strenuous climb, several tricky stiles, a close encounter with a field full of curious bullocks and a peaceful respite from the rain in St Oswald’s church! If you would like to join us and have not yet registered, please contact Barbara Cooper Parish Secretary. Our next walk will be on Thursday 8 October, venue to be confirmed ~Philippa and Helen
Injustice and Violence in the Holy Land – Archbishop Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has issued a statement decrying the violence engulfing the Holy Land and stating that the two-state solution should “remain the goal of all people of good will.” Read more.
Saturday is the anniversary of the day in 1969 when the Beatles released Abbey Road, their last-recorded album (Let It Be, though mostly recorded earlier than Abbey Road, was released in 1970). Those old enough to have bought the album back then will know that, even to this day, nothing compares to the record’s Side 2 which includes a nine-songs medley …here’s some of it performed by McCartney in 2013.
St Vincent de Paul’s Family Summer Programme – Generously supported by Holy Name parishioners, the summer holiday outings for children and their families featured visits to Amble, Seahouses, Beamish Museum, South Shields beach, Morpeth Park, Ridley Park, Plessey Woods, Hardwick Hall Park and Finchale Abbey.
The feedback from the families included – “Lots of choices of trips”, “This is the first time we have been able to go to South Shields beach”, “My children have made many new friends”, “The trips were well organised, and the packed lunches were fab”, “Amazing opportunities to go to places we couldn’t get to”, “Fantastic days out, very helpful staff, we had amazing days”, “This is the second summer we have attended St Vincent’s summer events”, “Easy booking, fantastic for the children”, “Fantastic to get the kids out and about, well organised”, “I think the community support during the holidays is great, when you’re in a group it’s more fun”, “Excellent, we enjoyed the trips as a family”, “A great time to make family memories, we would never have been able to get to Seahouses or Beamish Museum”, “St Vincent`s summer events were fabulous, my children looked forward to every session and made lots of new friends”, “Lovely coaches, we enjoyed Beamish Museum the most, I would never be able to afford to take my three children myself”, “Nice to see children of all different ages mix and play together, some lovely trip locations, super packed lunches, we cant wait for next year”.
Partnership Confirmation Course – If you are in Year 9 or above and wish to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are invited to attend the initial meeting next Sunday, 27 September, at 6pm in St Teresa’s Hall, Heaton. The Confirmation sessions will take place once a month on Sundays at 6pm, concluding with the Confirmation Mass in July next year. You can collect the initial interest form from the rack at the back of church.
Holy Name Book Club – The next meeting on 30 September at 7pm in the hall is for Ivan Turgenev’s novel of 1862 ‘Fathers and Sons’. You will be most welcome to join us.
“Fathers and Sons is one of the greatest nineteenth-century Russian novels, and has long been acclaimed as Turgenev’s finest work. It is a political novel set in a domestic context, with a universal theme, the generational divide between fathers and sons. Set in 1859 at the moment when the Russian autocratic state began to move hesitantly towards social and political reform, the novel explores the conflict between the liberal-minded fathers of Russian reformist sympathies and their free-thinking intellectual sons whose revolutionary ideology threatened the stability of the state.
At its centre is Evgeny Bazorov, a strong-willed antagonist of all forms of social orthodoxy who proclaims himself a nihilist and believes in the need to overthrow all the institutions of the state. As the novel develops Bazarov’s political ambitions become fatally meshed with emotional and private concerns, and his end is a tragic failure. The novel caused a bitter furore on its publication in 1862, and this, a year later, drove Turgenev from Russia.” (wordsworth-editions.com)
The choice for October’s meeting is ‘Gabriel’s Moon’ by William Boyd, the first of a trilogy of spy novels featuring the reluctant Gabriel Dax. For other future selections go to our Book Group page.
Please remember the following who are ill – Judith Ford, Christopher Robson, Anne Laws, Tessa Stevens, Malcolm Gregor, Claire Holloway, Diana Ross Richards, Mike Hannon, Frank McCombie and the Reverends John Coyle, Andrew Faley, John Skivington, Ronnie Brown, Syd Riley, Seamus McGivern, Bernard Pitt and Deacon Michael Rowell. May the Lord grant them comfort, strengthen them in their weakness, take away their fear and give them his peace.
Refugee Project Collection – The next collection will be on Saturday 3 October from 9 to 10am in the Hall. If you can, please donate any of the following: cooking oil, sugar, long life milk, evaporated milk, white rice,(not microwaveable), tinned mushrooms, plain white flour, nappies sizes 5 and 6, washing up liquid and unopened toiletries. Any spare plastic bags are always welcome.
Saturday is the birthday of T.S. Eliot, born 1888, an American-English poet, playwright, literary critic and editor who became a leader of the Modernist movement in poetry with such works as The Waste Land and Four Quartets. Eliot exercised a strong influence on Anglo-American culture from the 1920s until late in the 20th century. His experiments in diction, style, and versification revitalized English-language poetry and in a series of critical essays he shattered old orthodoxies and erected new ones. The publication of Four Quartets led to his recognition as the greatest living English poet and man of letters, and in 1948 he was awarded both the Order of Merit and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Here is the opening of his ‘Journey of the Magi’, the undertaking of the three ‘wise men’ to visit the infant Christ in Bethlehem.
‘A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.’
Nature Notes – Are the barn owls of Saltholme the best-fed owls in Britain? Research has found that barn owls on this Teesside RSPB nature reserve can choose from a full menu offering ten small mammal species. Analysing their pellets, scientists discovered that as well as bank and field voles, the birds were feasting on water voles; the smorgasbord also included three mice species (wood, harvest and house), brown rats and the trio of native shrews — common, pygmy and water. The research is being carried out as part of the Mammal Society’s Searching for Shrews project which is monitoring the spread of the non-native greater white-toothed shrew. First seen in this country five years ago in Sunderland, the greater white-toothed shrew hasn’t made it to Saltholme yet. ~ Jonathan Tulloch, The Times, 16 September
Children’s Liturgy – Children’s Liturgy, where our younger children can access the Gospel at their own level, has resumed but, due to the Great North Run, will not take place on Sunday 13 September. Children are welcome to join us from 9.45 a.m. in the Church Hall on Towers Avenue every Sunday during school term-time. All are welcome, but pre-school children need to be accompanied by an adult. ~ Sheila Jackson
Church Grounds – As the leaves on our many trees have begun to fall, we’d be grateful for more help with sweeping and tending to the grounds on a regular basis. f you are willing to help, please contact Fr Campion or Barbara Cooper at the Parish Office.
Parish Calendar – As usual, our Calendar for 2027 will be in aid of charity. If you have a special photograph for inclusion (in landscape, not portrait), please send it to the parish office.
Mass Intentions – If you wish to have someone remembered by name at Mass – for an anniversary of death, sickness, birthday or other occasion – please make your request a few weeks in advance either using a Mass Intention envelope (available at the back of church) or emailing welcome@holynamejesmond.co.uk
Personal Prayer – Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (from the Liturgy of the Hours) and the Scripture Readings for daily Mass can be found for free on the Universalis website. Also highly recommended is the Jesuit Ignatian Spirituality website at Pray As You Go.
Mary’s Place Homeless Café – Located at St Mary’s Cathedral (opposite Central Station) the Centre always needs sleeping bags, socks, men’s and women’s underwear (new) and deodorants. Contact Ged Downey on 07740 336 459 if you can help. If you’d be willing to be a volunteer, email marys.place@outlook.com if you can help.
Organ Meditations – Jesmond United Reformed Church on Burdon Terrace is hosting a series of Organ Meditations on Fridays in October at 1pm. Admission is free but donations to the Organ Fund are invited. Light lunches available at Layla’s Kitchen in the church foyer.
The guest organists are:
2 October Timothy Hone (St George’s, Cullercoats)
9 October Michael Haynes
16 October Ian Roberts (St Nicholas Cathedral)
23 October Matthew Kelley (Hexham Abbey)
30 October Stefan Piotrovic (Leeds)
Jesmond Residents Association – The Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 30 September 2026 at 7pm at the Newcastle Cricket Club on Osborne Avenue. We invite any Jesmond resident to join the committee to support the work that we do. To minimise the commitment, we are intending to work on the basis of six in-person meetings a year. If you are interested in joining the committee, please get in touch with the Secretary, Nils Clemmetsen at jesmond@jesmondresidents.co.uk. As part of the meeting the JRA would like to invite representatives from local street groups (WhatsApp etc) and local Residents Associations to join us to share experiences and see where we can join together. ~ Nils Clemmetsen, Secretary of the Jesmond Residents Association
Jesmond Library Talks – On Thursday 24 September at 6pm Mike Fraser speaks on ‘Was Dylan the Fifth Beatle?’ This follows up his very popular talk on Bob Dylan earlier this year with a new Dylan-themed talk, focusing on the relationship between Dylan and the Beatles – how they influenced each other, and how the rivalry drove both to new creative heights. Admission £3 at the door.
Charity Management – The Parish of the Holy Name is part of the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese registered charity. As such, it is good governance that all charitable activities under the auspices of the Holy Name should be reported to and noted by the parish’s Charity Committee. Resulting donations managed by the Holy Name parish must be processed and recorded in the parish accounts before dispersal. We have a very generous community and many of us organise and manage charitable activities. The Charity Committee must be informed of intentions by members of the parish to promote any charity or to organise charitable events within the church or hall before any arrangements are made. All such charities must be in keeping with the ethos of the Church. The Charity Committee members are: John Waddell, Deacon Jeremy Wynne, John Gilroy, Clare Robson and Fr Michael Campion.
Parish Registration – If you’ve never completed one before, or if you did but changed address or contact details in recent years, please complete and return a Registration Form available at the back of church. In addition to your name and contact details, we ask you to provide the name of a next of kin that we – God forbid – can contact in the event of an emergency. The form also allows you to join any of the liturgical ministries and spiritual, educational, social and cultural activities of our thriving community.
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
A Stay in Hospital – If you or any members of your family are going into hospital and wished to meet 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.
Prison Visiting – Do you have a listening ear? Are you empathetic and non-judgemental and have a couple of hours free to share? If so, have you thought about becoming an Official Prison Visitor (OPV)? The National Association of Official Prison Visitors (NAOPV) have OPVs in most prisons throughout England & Wales, who come from all sections of the community and are of every age, race, religion, gender and colour. We actively encourage young people from ethnic minorities to join us as you are under-represented in our organisation. As an OPV, you’ll visit prisoners who rarely, if ever, have visits and who have few or no links to family and friends outside. Committing to regular visits, taking the outside world into their closed world, bringing hope and companionship is the main role of an OPV.If you are interested and would like more information, please scan the QR code on the poster which will take you to the website or email: enquiries@naopv.com
Follow Holy Name on Social Media – Holy Name is now on Facebook and Instagram. Please follow our pages to keep up to date with parish news, Mass times, events, groups and community updates. You can also help us by liking, sharing and commenting on posts so that more people in our parish and local community can see what is happening at Holy Name.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HolyNameJesmond
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holynamejesmond
Gift Aid – If you pay tax and make donations to our parish, we can claim back from HM Revenue & Customs – and at no extra cost to you – 25p for every £1 you donate. This is a valuable source of income for the parish – it supports the work of our parish as well as helps to pay for the maintenance of our near 100 year old church. I am most grateful to everyone who supports Holy Name in this way. If you have not done so already, and you pay tax, please sign up for our Gift Aid scheme by completing this Gift Aid Declaration HN 2025 and returning it to the parish office.
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.
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)