Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth will open a centre dedicated to evangelisation next month.
The Adoremus Centre on Alderney, a three-mile long Channel Island, will consist of a priest, Fr John Lavers, and at least six Franciscan Sisters.
Bishop Egan said he hoped it would grow into a “powerhouse of prayer” in support of the “new evangelisation” – that is, proclaiming the Gospel to a secularised society.
The Sisters – part of the Franciscan family of the Immaculate Heart and St Maximilian – will support evangelisation through prayer, petition, self-offering and perpetual adoration.
The centre will also be a “house of prayer” for vocations to all states of life and ministry in the Church, but particularly to the priesthood.
Once established, the faithful will be invited to send email petitions related to the work of evangelisation, vocation and discipleship.
Mass and other liturgical ceremonies at the centre will be broadcast live on the internet each day.
In a letter to parishioners on Alderney, Bishop Egan said: “Given the challenges Catholics face in evangelising contemporary culture, I believe this project, which is about our total dependence on God’s providence, is crucial both for the future of the diocese and for the peoples of our lands.
“So I wish to invite you, the people of the parish, to join Fr John and the Sisters in this new venture and to support it in every way you can, so that Alderney can become a powerhouse of prayer supporting our diocese.”
Fr Lavers will be the island’s first resident parish priest in six years.
Catholic and Jewish schools to share campus in Scotland
A Catholic school in Scotland will share a campus with a Jewish school in what is reported to be the first initiative of its kind in the world.
St Clare’s primary, Jewish Calderwood Lodge and a non-religious nursery have moved into a £17 million campus in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire.
East Renfrewshire council said it built the site partly to meet increasing demands for a Catholic education.
The council suggested that it was the first time the two faiths had been brought together on one campus. The two schools will share an amphitheatre and an outdoor obstacle trail.
The site includes two sports pitches and computing facilities.
Anne Marie Absolom, headteacher at St Clare’s primary, said the “momentous” project showed the wider world that “two different faiths can work in close co-operation while retaining their own unique identity”.
Marion Carlton, headteacher at Calderwood Lodge, said it gave “excellent opportunities for shared learning and interaction among all the pupils and staff”.
New nuncio arrives in Ireland
A new apostolic nuncio arrived in Ireland last week.
Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, 60, from Nigeria, is the first African to serve in the role. Ordained in 1983, he was first posted as nuncio to the Central African Republic. In 2013 he was appointed as nuncio to the Dominican Republic. He speaks seven languages.
Archbishop Okolo succeeds Archbishop Charles Brown, who was transferred to Albania.
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