Nau Mai, Haere Mai. Welcome.
Parish Priest: Rev Fr Brendan Ward Cell: 027 9753272 Email: bpdward@gmail.com Presbytery: 7 Killarney Street Alexandra 9320 New Zealand Phone: +64 3 448 8202 Email: alexcatholic@xtra.co.nz |
Parish Pastoral Council
Chair: Mr Pat Cooney Cell: 027 7689918 Email: cooneys@xtra.co.nz |
Chair of Finance Committee:
Mr Phil Peguero Cell: 027 4990277 |
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.
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.
VATICAN NEWS (www.vaticannews.va)
*Pope Francis – ‘A negotiated peace is better than an endless war.’ In an interview with CBS, Pope
Francis referred in particular to the wars in Ukraine, in Gaza and others that continue to ravage the world, saying “Please, countries at war, all of them …Stop. Look to negotiate. Look for peace. A negotiated peace is better than a war without end.”
*Archbishop Caccia (speaking at the UN 4th International Conference on Financing for Development):
The primary issue ‘is the need to tackle worsening debt crises faced by many developing countries. … It is worrying that four in ten of the global population live in countries where the government spends more on interest payments than on education or health.’ The Holy See, he reassured, ‘acknowledges the potential for transformative change when bold ideas are aligned with political will and multilateral cooperation.’
*Cisco, the Multinational Digital Communications Technology company, joined other major companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and FAO involved in AI (Artificial Intelligence) development in recently signing the Vatican document ‘The Call For AI Ethics’, underscoring the fact that AI is ‘no longer a topic just for experts’ and the ethics of its development is more urgent than ever.
Francis referred in particular to the wars in Ukraine, in Gaza and others that continue to ravage the world, saying “Please, countries at war, all of them …Stop. Look to negotiate. Look for peace. A negotiated peace is better than a war without end.”
*Archbishop Caccia (speaking at the UN 4th International Conference on Financing for Development):
The primary issue ‘is the need to tackle worsening debt crises faced by many developing countries. … It is worrying that four in ten of the global population live in countries where the government spends more on interest payments than on education or health.’ The Holy See, he reassured, ‘acknowledges the potential for transformative change when bold ideas are aligned with political will and multilateral cooperation.’
*Cisco, the Multinational Digital Communications Technology company, joined other major companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and FAO involved in AI (Artificial Intelligence) development in recently signing the Vatican document ‘The Call For AI Ethics’, underscoring the fact that AI is ‘no longer a topic just for experts’ and the ethics of its development is more urgent than ever.
Parish & Diocesan NewsletterS
NB: If you do not receive a confirmation email, you will need to resubmit this form, but please do check your email address is correctly typed before submitting.
“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)