Nau Mai, Haere Mai. Welcome.
Parish Priest: Rev Fr Brendan Ward Cell: 027 9753272 Email: [email protected] Presbytery: 7 Killarney Street Alexandra 9320 New Zealand Phone: +64 3 448 8202 Email: [email protected] |
Chair of Finance Committee:
Mr Phil Peguero Cell: 027 4990277 |
ALEXANDRA PASTORAL AREA
USUAL MASS AND LITURGY TIMES
USUAL MASS AND LITURGY TIMES
Saturday: 6:00pm Vigil Mass at Omakau
Sunday: 9:00am Alexandra
11:00am Roxburgh
Weekdays:
-Alexandra: 5:00pm Tuesday, 9:00am Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and noon, Friday.
-Roxburgh: 5:15pm Wednesday
RECONCILIATION
-Alexandra: 9:30am to 10:00am Saturdays; elsewhere and otherwise, upon request.
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
-Alexandra: At the noon Mass, first Fridays of March, June, September and December;
-Roxburgh: At the 5:15pm Mass, first Wednesdays of March, June, September and December.
St John the Baptist Church marks 100 years as parish.
- Otago Daily Times, Sunday, 05 May 2024
- Otago Daily Times, Sunday, 05 May 2024
About 130 parishioners of St John the Baptist Church, in Alexandra, joined together for Mass on Sunday, April 21, to mark 100 years since the Alexandra parish was formed.
PHOTO: DONALD LAMONT
Connections among all people were celebrated in Alexandra earlier this month as a local church marked 100 years as a parish.
The congregation celebrated with a dinner on Saturday night, followed by Mass on Sunday, when they were joined by the bishop of the Dunedin diocese and four priests who previously served in Alexandra. Long-time Alexandra resident John Breen has been a part of the St John’s parish for close to 80 years. He first attended a stone church near the Alexandra Bridge and then the church near St Gerard’s Primary School. Faith and interpersonal connections were central to a strong and long-lasting parish, Mr Breen said. The church gave an "appreciation of your place in life and the people around you are central to that".
Father Wayne Healey echoed Mr Breen’s opinion and said the people of the parish were invaluable. He served the church from 1991 to 2001 and had many fond memories of his time at the church, including conducting the first baptism in the world of the new millennium — a feat later verified by the Pope. He said the parish were very involved in the local community and they "work together to build up Christian faith and service".
The Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, the Most Rev Michael Dooley said he was thrilled to be part of such a happy occasion. The celebration had a definitive family atmosphere and had "brought the church community together". "One hundred years is a great record [and] very good to acknowledge," Bishop Dooley said.
VATICAN NEWS (www.vaticannews.va)
1) In his Message for the Fourth World Day for
Grandparents and the Elderly, which will take place on 28
July 2024, Pope Francis recognises the situation of many
elderly people today, and assures them: “God never
abandons His children, never.”
2) In a wide-ranging interview with Vatican Media, the
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN in New York,
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, observes that ‘military solutions’
do not work and therefore other paths must be taken; and
warns that dangers of nuclear arms pose concrete threats to
the existence of humanity. (14 May)
3) Pope asks international community to help flood-hit
Afghanistan.
4) Pope at audience: ‘Like every human person,
Christians are capable of “all the forms of love in the world”:
romantic love, love of friends, country, humanity. “But there is
a greater love,” Pope Francis said, “which comes from God
and is directed towards God, and enables us to love God
and to love our neighbour as God does.” This is the virtue of
charity, which enables us not only to love our friends and
family but to love even those who are difficult to love. “This is
‘theological’,” the Pope said, because “it comes from God; it
is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.”
5) Pope Francis blessed the "Voice of the Unborn" bell,
which will be taken to Kazakhstan, to serve as a reminder of
the importance of protecting human life from conception to
natural death.
6) Scientists, regional and local leaders and experts
from universities around the world met in the Vatican for a
Summit entitled, "From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience,"
promoted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. (15 May)
Parish & Diocesan NewsletterS
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“Synodality starts with hearing from the whole People of God. A Church that teaches must be firstly a Church that listens. Consulting all members of the Church is vital because, as the Second Vatican Council reminded us, the faithful as a whole are anointed by the Holy Spirit...
What characterizes a synodal path is the role of the Holy Spirit. We listen, we discuss in groups, but above all we pay attention to what the Spirit has to say to us. That is why I ask everyone to speak frankly and to listen carefully to others because there, too, the Spirit is speaking. Open to changes and new possibilities, the Synod is for everyone an experience of conversion.”
- Pope Francis (Let Us Dream, 2020)
What characterizes a synodal path is the role of the Holy Spirit. We listen, we discuss in groups, but above all we pay attention to what the Spirit has to say to us. That is why I ask everyone to speak frankly and to listen carefully to others because there, too, the Spirit is speaking. Open to changes and new possibilities, the Synod is for everyone an experience of conversion.”
- Pope Francis (Let Us Dream, 2020)