A very nice piece on Channel 4

Go here to see Matt Roche Saunders and Matt O'Gorman talking about the priesthood.

From the Archbishop

When I was in Balham, Fr Stephen mentioned that +Peter Smith, our newly-minted Archbishop, has written to our schools about the Papal Visit.

Here's the full message from the Archdiocesan website:

Archbishop Peter has written personally to every college and school in Southwark
encouraging them to send students to the Papal Vigil at Hyde Park.

Each
school has been offered a substantial allocation of complementary Pilgrim Packs
and Passes for the Vigil.

The Archbishop is particularly keen that all
the young people of our diocese be given the opportunity to attend the Vigil
which will have a particular youth focus.

Passes can also be allocated
to the youth groups and other official organisations of the diocese.

For
more information please contact the diocesan Vocations Director,
Fr Stephen
Langridge, by emailing him at frstephen@hgbalham.com

Southwark's Bishops in Rome

Left to Right: Bishop Paul, HH Benedict XVI, Bishop John, Bishop Pat.

I found this rather nice photo of our bishops (during the sede vacante period) in Rome. Please pray for me as tomorrow morning I shall be interviewed for BBC London 94.9's Faith & Ethics Programme, to go out next week.

Photo Credit: L'Osservatore Romano via Southwark Archdiocese.

Newman's Southwark Connections

Did you know that Cardinal Newman offered his first mass in St George's Church, now St George's Cathedral? Find out more at Southwark Archdiocese's new website section on the visit!

New from the Visit Co ordinator

Msgr Summersgill has another weekly update out. Very interesting. He says that everyone should be receiving their missals for the Visit over the next few days, which is very exciting.

I have been finalising my own plans for the period of the Visit: Dani & I will be at the youth event in the Piazza of Westminster Cathedral, then looking after the young people of our Archdiocese on their journey to Hyde Park. I imagine their will be quite a lot of media interest that day, which could be quite stressful but should be very interesting. Also, I am now anticipating getting about 3 hours sleep, probably on the floor at Holy Ghost, Balham, on the Saturday night of the visit - but we can all sleep once the Pope heads back to Rome.

Hope all's well with you, readers.

Blackfen: 2

Dani & I had a lovely morning in Blackfen today: we attended a Missa Cantata in the Extaordinary Form, a first for both of us, and then met Fr Tim Finigan, Mac McLernon (to whom I owe this lovely photo of the elevation of the Host) and many parishioners in the Social Club afterwards. It was good to meet the parish pilgrim leaders and hear the thoughts of the people of the parish about the Visit. Thanks Blackfen!

If any other parishes want to follow Blackfen's lead and invite us over, get in touch! I'm at james@scys.org.uk.

Blackfen

Dani & I have been very kindly invited to meet parishioners and chat with people in Our Lady of the Rosary parish in Blackfen, this Sunday. Why not pop over to their 10.30 Mass and say hi to us afterwards, if you're in the area.

Thanks to Father Tim Finigan and Mac McLernon for inviting us!

Kind words....

...from another Southwark blogger. Thanks very much!

41 days

Only forty-one days to go until Benedict XVI arrives in the UK: what are you doing to prepare? Our Lady of the Rosary parish, in Blackfen, in Southwark, has a few suggestions on their parish blog: http://rosary-blackfen.blogspot.com/. If anyone has any more, just pop them in the combox! Also The Papal Visit website has a section about Newman's theology now, which is well worth a look - http://tiny.cc/uh89u.

Enjoy & happy Feast of the Transfiguration!

Welcome to the Southwark Papal Visit Blog!

Hi everyone, and welcome to the first post from the Southwark Papal Visit Blog. Over the next 6 weeks this blog should be a hub of information and conversation about the forthcoming Apostolic and State Visit of the Holy Father to the UK. Our main focus is going to be the involvement of the priests and people of Southwark Archdiocese (www.rcsouthwark.co.uk) in the Visit, as well as the more general information. We aim to be your simplest route into information about the visit in a less formal way than the central website (www.thepapalvisit.org.uk).

This blog is being run by Daniella Adams and James Blythe, Southwark Archdiocese's Papal Visit Communications Team. We are volunteers whose role is to promote the visit through the media and support and energise the Southwark pilgrims who will be going to the major events of the Visit.

We hope you'll pop back from time to time to check in on Southwark's latest Papal Visit news.