RC Diocese of Northampton

07/09/2026

🙏 Online Week of Guided Prayer | 18–23 October 2026

For those directly or indirectly affected by clergy abuse in the Church, the Jesuit Institute is offering an Online Week of Guided Prayer from 18–23 October.

The week provides a safe and confidential space for prayer, reflection and accompaniment. Each day, participants will spend around 30 minutes in personal prayer, alongside up to 45 minutes of confidential, one-to-one conversation with a spiritual director.

The spiritual direction team includes priests and lay people, women and men, with experience in spiritual accompaniment, including backgrounds in psychology and psychotherapy.

There is no cost to take part.

If you would like to find out more before booking, please contact Sarah Young at [email protected].

🔗 More information and booking: www.jesuitinstitute.org/events

Please share this information with anyone who may find this opportunity helpful.

04/09/2026

Safeguarding is more than a policy, it is part of how we live our faith.

Our Diocese of Northampton Safeguarding Conference is an opportunity to come together, listen, learn and reflect on how we can create safer, more compassionate communities across our parishes.

The day will explore adult safeguarding, hear from survivors and experts, and consider practices of healing and reconciliation for those who have experienced hurt and harm.

With contributions from West Northamptonshire Council, Clare Watkins of Durham University and Deacon Peter Collins, this promises to be an important and thought-provoking day.

📅 Saturday 3rd October
📍 St Thomas Centre at Northampton Cathedral
🎟️ Book your place: email [email protected]

Let us continue to build a Church where every person is safe, valued, listened to and treated with dignity.

03/09/2026

📖 How can we build a culture of intentional discipleship in our parishes?

Mission Northampton invites you to join a 12-session book study of Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell.

Together, we’ll explore how our parishes can help each person discover the joy of following Christ and embrace their baptismal call.

🗓️ Starting January 2027
📅 First & third Thursday of each month
🕑 Afternoon: 2–3pm
🌙 Evening: 7.45–8.45pm

The afternoon and evening sessions cover the same material, so please choose one time and attend that session.

https://northamptondiocese.org/courses/book-club-online-thursday-afternoon-january-2027/

https://northamptondiocese.org/courses/book-club-online-wednesday-evening-january-2027/

Come and discover how intentional discipleship can help our parishes become places where faith is nurtured, shared and lived. 🙏

03/09/2026

We are calling on Catholics in England and Wales to unite in prayer and compassionate action to oppose assisted su***de.

03/09/2026

🎉 Celebrating St Augustine together! 🙏

There was plenty of joy, laughter and fellowship in Datchet last Sunday as 118 parishioners from Eton and Datchet came together for a special Parish BBQ to celebrate their patron, St Augustine.

☀️ Good food, great conversation and wonderful company made for a memorable afternoon and a beautiful reminder that parish life is about more than what happens inside the church. It is about friendship, belonging and sharing the joy of our faith.

A huge thank you to all the volunteers whose generosity and hard work made the celebration possible.

Fr Shyju Chacko said the tremendous community spirit shown by the parishioners of Eton and Datchet continues to be “truly inspiring.”

What a wonderful way to celebrate St Augustine and the gift of parish community!

28/08/2026

🙏🇫🇷 125 years of pilgrimage to Lourdes

This week, pilgrims from the Diocese of Northampton are joining the Catholic Association pilgrimage to Lourdes as we celebrate its 125th anniversary.

Our diocese is represented by helpers, assisted pilgrims and young helpers, joining pilgrims from Clifton, East Anglia and Southwark for a week of prayer, friendship and encounter.

From the International Mass and the beauty of the Pyrenees to the special 125th anniversary Mass and Anointing of the Sick, Lourdes continues to be a place of hope, healing and faith.

https://northamptondiocese.org/home-page/125-years-of-pilgrimage-catholic-association-celebrates-milestone-in-lourdes/

Please keep all our pilgrims in your prayers as they continue their pilgrimage. 🙏

27/08/2026

🌿 Could you help our Healing Garden grow?

As we approach the Season of Creation, beginning on 1 September, we’re inviting volunteers to help care for the Healing Garden at Northampton Cathedral.

This year’s theme, ‘Immersion in Living Water’, calls Christians to work together for the renewal of creation.

The Healing Garden is a place of peace, prayer, reflection and hope. By helping to care for it, you can play a practical part in nurturing both creation and a space where people come to find healing and wellbeing.

🌱 Volunteers are especially welcome on Wednesday mornings for a couple of hours. No specialist gardening experience is needed, just a willingness to help!

📧 To find out more: [email protected]

12/08/2026

A little Catholic shop making a big difference ❤️

In the middle of Bletchley’s busy high street, surrounded by coffee shops, takeaways and nail bars, something rather special is happening.

At Ave Maria Religious Supplies, people come in looking for Bibles, rosaries, First Holy Communion gifts and holy water.

But sometimes, they leave having discovered something much more.

🙏 At least ten people have been baptised after visiting the shop and beginning conversations about faith.

One of them was 18-year-old Freya, who walked into the shop and began a journey that led to her baptism. Lavinia, who runs the shop with her family, is now her godmother.

Children walking past sometimes stop to make the Sign of the Cross or even kiss the glass when they see an image of Jesus.

And the shop is reaching people well beyond the high street too.

📱 Some of Ave Maria Religious Supplies Ltd TikTok videos have been viewed more than 30,000 times, bringing Catholic faith to a new generation.

“We made the video and the next day, nothing,” Lavinia recalls. “Then after three days my phone blew up!”

The story of Ave Maria is ultimately a story about encounter, creating a place where people can ask questions, talk about faith and perhaps discover that God has brought them there for a reason.

And there is an even bigger vision. Proceeds from the shop are helping to fund an orphanage in Nigeria, where land has already been purchased, blessed by the Bishop and foundations laid.

From Bletchley to TikTok, from First Holy Communion gifts to conversations about baptism, Ave Maria is showing that evangelisation can happen in some very unexpected places.

📖 Read the full story on our website: https://northamptondiocese.org/home-page/a-little-shop-making-a-big-difference/

10/08/2026

09/08/2026

🙏 18 men gather to discern a possible call to the priesthood

What might God be calling you to?

Eighteen men from across our diocese recently gathered at St Augustine’s in Milton Keynes for a Vocations Discernment Day, organised by our Diocesan Vocations Director, Fr Pius Amoako.

The day offered an opportunity to step back, pray, ask questions and explore what God might be asking of them. They were accompanied by five priests, two seminarians and a deacon, who shared their experiences of answering God’s call.

The day began with a warm welcome and time together, and concluded with an hour of Eucharistic Adoration, placing the discerners, their questions and their hopes before the Lord.

It was a joyful day of prayer, fellowship and openness to God’s call.

Please pray for all 18 men as they continue their journey of discernment and pray for more young men and adults across our diocese who may be wondering whether God is calling them to serve His Church as priests.

📖 “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9