Diocesan Festival 2017

The fifth Diocesan Festival took place on the weekend of 24 and 25 June. Our dedicated festival page has a full gallery of images from the weekend.

Education and Formation Mass

On Tuesday 20 June 2017 the Diocesan Education and Formation Mass took place at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle with Bishop Séamus Cunningham.

The Mass was a celebration of Diocesan faithfulness to the Church's educational and formational mission and the commitment of all who contribute to this in any way. Thanks was given for the work of those who have made a specific contribution to education or formation. Bishop Séamus presented retiring headteachers, school staff and governors with episcopal blessings.

The full album can be viewed through our Education gallery.

Partnerships at Pentecost

When the disciples left the locked room after they had received the Spirit, there was no stopping them! It’s as though they burst out of the room and began to preach and teach and heal and let people know about the presence of the Risen Lord among them. At Pentecost we celebrate that moment and have a number of documents to help us. A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Séamus inviting us all to you to pray for our Diocese as we formally acknowledge our new Partnerships. The prayer said to inaugurate our Partnerships (Prayer for our new Partnership) is available for everyone in the Diocese to use at any time they please.

There is a final Forward Together in Hope leaflet entitled 'Pointing the Way' for every parishioner with a note from Bishop Séamus, a reminder of our whole journey over the last three years including the luggage label used in our first leaflet inviting everyone to explore once again what it means to be a disciple, and a final note from the Forward Together in Hope team.

'Reflections from across the Diocese' offers a wide range of topics which Bishop Séamus and the Diocesan Trustees explored in their meeting in January and shows how seriously they took all the comments and observations from across the diocese. All clergy and parish representative have a copy and there are some hard copies available for each parish.

Young People surveys

If you’re aged between 13 and 29 and living in England or Wales, we invite you to complete the Mega Youth Poll. This is a survey that the Catholic Church have devised to hear what young people have to say about their life, faith and vocational discernment, which will be used in a report that will be sent to the Vatican in preparation for the 2018 General Assembly of the Synod next year led by Pope Francis.

'Vocational Discernment is the way by which a person discovers how to follow Jesus in their way of life and their work.'

We would also love to hear from those who care for or work with young people aged between 13-29. If this is you, please spare a short moment in time to complete this separate survey.

Closing date for both surveys is Friday 30 June 2017.