Parish of Mary Mother of God, Bradford

18/06/2026

Great session this evening in our new Faith Formation Group. We explored the Beatitudes - how they connect with Moses and the Ten Commandments, how they fulfil the Torah, how they reveal God at work within us, how we are called to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the building up of the "kingdom of heaven." There were some beautiful spontaneous reflections from group members. We've discovered a good format: structured but informal; one-hour long; and with a cup of tea thrown in. Thanks to those who came (we were six this evening). We'll meet next Thursday evening too (6.30pm, St John's Hall) and the topic is: The Roman Canon (or Eucharistic Prayer 1). Thereafter fortnightly. Come along! Proper Catholics want to know more. Diocese of Leeds Faith Formation Diocese of Middlesbrough Adult Faith Formation

18/06/2026

Ages 11 to 18 years welcome to our Catholic Youth Club at St John's Hall. This week Gemma Baville from Catholic Care talks to our young people about 'BIG' feelings and how to cope, whether its exam stress, the loss of a loved one or just feeling cross.

18/06/2026

There are just three more place left on the Ampleforth Trip, setting off this Saturday. Fr Paul is driving the minibus, setting off at 10am back at 6pm, bring a packed lunch or eat at the cafe.

17/06/2026

Just to lower the temperature a little on this Page, I thought we'd get a bit political. I'm happy to announce that we will be having a parish coach to the 2026 March for Life in London on Saturday 5th September. Price: £40 (but you can pay twice if you want and sponsor a Franciscan Friar or Sister!) The great Canon Joseph Lyons used to run two coaches from St Winefride's to oppose the culture of death in the 1970s. Let it not be said that we in this generation are laggardly in expressing our support for pregnant women and defending the lives of unborn children! This is today's greatest human rights issue. To book your place (and anybody can join us), please phone the Parish Office (01274 677992).

Abortion is never the answer.

17/06/2026

⚠️ Mass Cancellation Notice ⚠️

Due to train delays affecting Fr Paul's return journey, the 6:00pm Mass at St Winefride's Church has been cancelled this evening.

🙏 We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

14/06/2026

Here's what is happening this week. We look forward to celebrating a Mass for the Bradford Circle of the Catenian Assocation this coming Tuesday evening at St John's - to which of course everybody is invited. The Circle, in keeping with the Association's charism, has asked that the Mass intention be for an increase in vocations to the priesthood in our Diocese. We are grateful to the St John's Social Club for opening the bar for a post-Mass reception in our hall.

14/06/2026

One of our new Reform Councillors for Wibsey, Jason Townend, kindly paid a visit to our Catholic Care Community Market on Wednesday and we were able to fill him in about what we do. At our invitation he has agreed to hold some surgeries during the Market following the example of his Labour predecessors. We look forward to working with him and his colleagues for the good of the people of Bradford. Bradford Council

13/06/2026

It's generally agreed that the key to parish renewal is adult faith formation but how can we go about it? Step forward Parish Pastoral Council members Linda Wright (Head of RE at St Thomas a Becket Catholic Secondary School) and Tom Raw (recently qualified History Teacher) who met with Fr Paul this evening. Here's what we are going to do: a 15-part RCIA on Tuesday evenings at St John's; a fortnightly session of ongoing formation for Catholics on Thursday evenings at St Winefride's at which (get this) a group member will do some prep on eg an encyclical or a paragraph in the Catechism or a scriptural passage or a CTS: Catholic Truth Society booklet and then lead a discussion about it; an annual parish retreat; a catechetical slot in the weekly newsletter; and a daytime catechetical event aimed at older parishioners. Tonight's was the first of a series of meetings comprising three people (two PPC members and a Senior Leadership Team member) which are aimed at realising our five parish objectives. Momentum, thank God, is gathering. Diocese of Leeds Faith Formation

12/06/2026

Great meeting on Thursday with Jessica from Diocese of Leeds Diocesan Youth Service. Faith in Action is a great project for our parish young people

07/06/2026

These days we are focusing on how we can help the good number of teachers and support staff in our Catholic schools who are not Catholic to understand quite how straightforwardly marvellous it is to be a Catholic whilst simultaneously respecting their rights to religious freedom. Not a problem, says St Bede's & St Joseph's Catholic College Catholic Life Lead Claire Brown, who last week organised an end-of-school-day, market-style formation session for all staff at which they could ask whatever questions they wanted. Amid stalls providing details of the Mass and the sacraments, Catholic teaching on the virtues, the rationale for Catholic schools and much more, a Muslim teacher approached Fr Paul and said, "So, do you think faith makes students more disciplined?" and we were off! Congratulations to all the staff who curated such a creative and respectful event.