Anderton St Joseph's        
                Newsletter


DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (EASTER II)

27th APRIL 2025

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Sat 26th Easter Saturday
09.00From Rome: televised Funeral Mass for Pope Francis 
17.00Vigil Mass at St Mary’s Chorley 

Sun 27th DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (EASTER II)
09.30Mass at St Mary’s

11.00Mass – Eddie Marsden (A) 
12.15Baptism – Ralph Bernard Evans

15.00 Divine Mercy Service and Mass at Sacred Heart, Brooke St.

Mon 28th St George, Patron of England (transferred from 23rd) 
18.30Talk on Eucharistic Miracles at St Mary’s Chorley Parish Centre 

Tues 29thSt Catherine of Siena 
10.00Mass – John Wood (A) 

Wed 30thPope St Pius V

Thurs 1st MaySt Joseph the Worker   

Fri 2ndSt Athanasius  
10.00 Mass – Winifred Walsh

Sat 3rdSs Philip and James, Apostles 
15.00Talk on the Turin Shroud at St Mary’s Parish Centre 
17.00Vigil Mass at St Mary’s Chorley 

Sun 4thTHIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 
09.30Mass at St Mary’s

11.00Mass - Robert Brownlow

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK AND THE HOUSEBOUND
Joan Bailey, Francis Brennan, Anne Byrne, Mary Patricia Case, Gerard Clarke, baby Henry Curtis, 
Leo Duffy, John Fearnhead, Pat Font, Tom Fraser, William Freeman, Bob Goulding, 
Rosemary Hough, Cathy Hull, Mary Johnston, Abp Emeritus Patrick Kelly, John Kerfoot, Bill King, Emma King, Val McGlade, Janet McGowan, Fintan McPeake, Teresa Martin, Fr Laurence Mayne, Ellen Morris, Irene O'Neil, Heidi O’Neill, Barrie Swift, Josette Walsh, Lorraine Waugh, Jean White, all at Grove House & Marley Court. 

RETIRING COLLECTIONS:  SVP Collection on 27th April, Restoration Fund 4th May

BAPTISM BOOKINGS DATES AVAILABLE:  8th June, 29th June, 27th July, 31st Aug., 28th Sept. Baptisms will take place at 12.00 noon. Could those who have returned baptism forms please let me know which date they want for their child’s baptism, if they have not already done so? 

THANK YOU to everyone who has worked hard covering the statues and pictures in Church for Passiontide, cleaning the church and decorating beautifully with flowers for Easter. It looks really lovely. Without the help of such dedicated co-workers our celebrations would be much diminished. Thank you also to the choir, musicians, sacristans and altar servers for their work and support. 

THE LATE POPE FRANCIS: on Easter Monday we bade farewell to Pope Francis. Although not unexpected given his age of 88 and his illness these last months, he has been our Pope for the last 12 years, the first ever from Latin America. He came from Buenos Aires and was the son of an Italian immigrant father and an Argentinian mother. He is also the first ever Jesuit pope. Ordained a priest in 1967, he later served as provincial superior and later as an auxiliary bishop before being appointed in 1998 the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. A man of simplicity and humility, committed to social justice, he dedicated himself to the pastoral care of the poor in the favelas, the slums. In 2001, Pope John Paul made him a cardinal and in March 2013 he was elected Pope. He chose the name Francis, after St Francis of Assisi, as he said, because he was “a man of peace, a man of poverty and a man who loved and protected creation. The Book of Condolences is on line at Archdiocese of Liverpool - Pope Francis: Book of Condolence” 
May he rest in peace and rise in glory. 
Once the funeral is over, preparations for the Conclave to elect the next Pope will begin. Let us pray for the Cardinal-electors that they will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and choose the candidate whom God wants for His Church. 

DBS FORMS – All those parish volunteers who are asked to fill in DBS forms and provide identity information, could they please get the forms back to Mr Francis Webster, Parish Safeguarding Officer, as soon as possible. Very urgent! Many thanks for your cooperation. 


EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES AND THE TURIN SHROUD
We are very lucky to have Mike Pietrzyk, a speaker from Michigan USA, visiting the Archdiocese of Liverpool. We have invited Mr Pietrzyk to speak to us on Monday 28th April at 18.30 in St Mary’s parish centre about Eucharistic Miracles. 
A further visit will take place on Saturday 3rd May, 15.00 in the same parish centre, with an illustrated talk about the Shroud of Turin and the secrets that the forensic evidence tells us with the new technology now available Please come and hear the amazing evidence that will astound you about the Passion of Christ and the true reality of Jesus’s presence in Holy Communion. 

BAKE SALE - SUNDAY 27th APRIL  Our altar server Eli Maher has been selected to join West Lancashire Scouts on a volunteering mission to Malawi this summer. Working with the charity Friends of Malawi Orphans (FOMO), he will be working to rebuild several community centres which were devastated in recent floods. These centres serve as schools, orphanages and health centres, providing vital help for the local communities. To raise money for the trip, Eli will be selling cakes at the back of the church after Mass on Sunday 27th April. Your support is very much appreciated!


"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead... If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
(1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17, 19)



AN EVENING OF SONG with Parkside Colliery Male Voice Choir at St Joseph’s Chorley, Parish Centre on 17th May commencing at 19.30. Tickets are £5.00 (including refreshments) are available from Chris Jenner. Tel: 01257 278915 ​

CHORLEY AND PRESTON HOSPITALS: Please contact St Joseph's Chorley (262713) if any member of your family is admitted into Chorley Hospital and needs a visit. In urgent cases or emergency please ask the ward staff to call the duty Chaplain on his bleep/phone. For the chaplaincy service at Royal Preston Hospital Tel: 01772 522435. For the chaplaincy service at Wigan Infirmary Tel: 01942 822324. 


Parish Priest: Fr Francis Marsden
Secretary: Mr Frank Webster 
Parish Office: St Joseph’s Presbytery, 28 Bolton Road, Adlington, PR6 9NA
Wednesdays 10.00-13.00
Tel: all calls now to 01257- 262537 (St Mary’s Chorley)

E-mail: stjosephs.anderton@tiscali.co.uk
Parish Website: www.stjosephsanderton.com

ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL Registered Charity No. 1199714
























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