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DIVINE MERCY CONFERENCE, RDS, DUBLIN – SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2026

Bus will leave St Paul’s Church, Falls Road at 7.30pm Returning approx. 10.45/11.00pm.

Travel cost is £25 (bus price only) which must be paid when booking your seat. Failure to get 30 people the bus would have to be cancelled. Travel confirmation, 1 week before departure. Unfortunately, no refund can be given in cases of sickness etc.

Conference tickets to be bought individually at the venue £35 or Euros.

Bring enough food for lunch and dinner – there are tea and coffee stations where hot drinks and snacks can be purchased. Telephone Tina McCrory – 07523824350 to book a seat on the bus.

DOWN AND CONNOR LOURDES PILGRIMAGE YOUTH TEAM 2026
8 – 15 July 2026. Online applications open to all 17 – 24-year-olds (at time of travel).
Applications close 7 March 2026 @5pm. Cost £810 incl. flights, shared full board accommodation and insurance.

Contact lourdes@downandconnor.org or 02890 770162 downsndconnor.org/lourdes

DOWN & CONNOR DIOCESAN LOURDES PILGRIMAGE 2026
9 – 14 July 95 nights) or 8 – 15 July (7 nights). For more information (cost, accommodation or to request a booking form) contact 02890 770162, or email lourdes@downandconnor.org

Grateful thanks and appreciation to an anonymous donor who kindly contributed £1,000 towards heating of the church.

Grateful thanks for your generosity, as always, to our Christmas Missionary Appeal. A magnificent total of £13,000 was raised. This money has been forwarded on your behalf to Medical Missionaries of Mary working throughout Africa and Dominican Sisters in Zambia.

Many people choose to abstain from alcohol during the season Lent. You can do likewise.

Please consider taking the short-term Pioneer Lenten pledge and say the prayer daily – “I promise in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary to abstain from all alcoholic drink during Lent”.

The loss of a partner through death, separation or divorce is devastating.

Beginning Experience is offering “a weekend away for a lifetime of change” at Drumalis Retreat and Conference Centre, Larne on Friday 20th-Sunday 22nd March 2026.

To find out more contact Marie 07896119669 or Pauline 07519289185 or email belfastbe@yahoo.com

In Ireland, a Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse is marked each year on the Friday immediately following Ash Wednesday. This year it will be marked across Ireland on Friday 20th February 2026

This day is not only for victims and survivors who have been so severely injured inside our Church, but also for the families and communities affected by the pain and grief of their loved ones.

It is essential that we, as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable. Let us beg forgiveness for our own sins and the sins of others. An awareness of sin helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a journey of renewed conversion

Abuse happened within the Catholic Church in Ireland. Abuse happened in our Diocese of Down and Connor.
BISHOP ALAN MCGUCKIAN SJ WILL CELEBRATE MASS IN ST PETER’S CATHEDRAL ON FRIDAY 20TH FEBRUARY 2026 AT 6:00PM. Chairs and members of Parish – Family of Parishes Safeguarding Committees are invited to attend the Mass in St Peter’s Cathedral and join with Bishop Alan in praying for all those who have been affected by abuse.

Catholic Mothers Ireland, along with Family Solidarity, Teams of Our Lady and Marriage Encounter are holding a special event for Catholic Couples on Saturday 18th April. Further details later.

BEGINNING EXPERIENCE is a peer ministry to the bereaved, separated and divorced, based within the Family Ministry of the Diocese of Down and Connor. The loss of a partner through death, separation or divorce is devastating. Beginning Experience is offering a programme of bereavement support in St Bride’s Hall, Derryvolgie Ave., Belfast on three Saturdays (31st January,
28th February and 28th March) Booking essential. To find out more, contact Pauline 07519289185 or Marie 07896119669 or email belfastbe@yahoo.com