Columban missionary priest, Fr Frank Hoare spoke on formation for mission – a key issue that emerged from the churches of Oceania for the Synod on Synodality’s consultation phases and also one of the three central tenets of the Synod. He proposed that “a new era of Christian mission will be grounded on a return to the Gospel message” and a simplification of some of the Church’s structures.

The Diocese of Sandhurst will publicly launch Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion in Hargreaves Mall Bendigo on Shrove Tuesday 21 February and you are invited!

Join us for free pancakes as you enjoy entertainment by local students, followed by the commissioning of Project Compassion School and Parish Representatives by Bishop Shane Mackinlay. 

Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, an undersecretary of the Holy See’s Synod of Bishops General Secretariat, addressed the Assembly on Tuesday, challenging the Bishops to walk synodally. “The Church is the same as the beginning, but has taken shape in different ways according to the context, history, what we are living. It is a dynamic vision really rooted in the Trinitarian God,” she said.

Applications are open for Australians aged 16 to 24 to join one of five new Youth Advisory Groups to advise on Australian Government policies and programs across key issues facing young people. Minister for Youth, Dr Anne Aly said the advisory groups will deliver on the Albanese Government’s promise to better engage with young Australians.

This year, Palm Sunday falls on 2 April. The day provides an opportunity for people of faith and good will to gather again to promote Bendigo and Australia as a welcoming and just community; calling on our parliament to replace cruel practices of exclusion and detention with a compassionate and supportive welcome to those who flee to us for sanctuary.

Sandhurst Youth Ministry is going to World Youth Day (WYD)and we couldn’t be more excited. Expressions of interest are invited from young adults aged 18-35 to join the pilgrimage from 29 July to 11 August 2023. 

Late last year, musician and composer Gen Bryant wrote a song which still resonates strongly with her today. “I think I almost wrote it as a challenge to myself; it’s called ‘What am I waiting for?’ It’s a call to speak up, and rise up, and not just talk about things, but to do something about whatever it is that we are passionate about.”

Dr Elissa Roper, a theologian with a strong focus on synodality, will be the keynote speaker at the Diocesan Assembly on 15 February. Dr Roper says it is time for us to move on to being a “mature, responsible and loving” Church and synodality will help us get there.

A Mass steeped in Fijian spirituality and tradition opened the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania Assembly on Sunday5 February 2023. The Mass was Celebrated by Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, the Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Suva, Fiji. 

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB,
President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

It was with great sadness that I learned of the unexpected death of Cardinal George Pell in Rome on Tuesday 10 January 2023.