National Vocations Awareness Week

Today is the feast of St John Vianney, the patron of parish clergy.  Pray for your priests today in thanksgiving for their ministry and presence in your community.  Next Thursday is the feast of St Mary of the Cross McKillop, our first Australia saint.  Pray for the religious who do so much in pastoral care, education, health care and many other ministries.  Pray also that these saints may inspire many vocations to consecrated life and priesthood, especially from your community.

Bishop’s Appeal for Diocesan Ministries

The annual Bishop’s Appeal for Diocesan Ministries is now on. This appeal directly assists the diocese operate vital ministries. These include: Chaplaincy services to prisons and hospitals, Promotion of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry, Catholic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ministry, Ecumenical and Interfaith activities, Youth Ministry initiatives, Faith education and formation for Adults and liturgical training and Vocations awareness.

Information envelopes are available in your parish now. Please support this appeal to allow Bishop Tim to continue this great work in the Diocese.

St Vincent de Paul – National Homelessness Week

During National Homelessness week August 5 to 11, Vinnies volunteers are raising funds to support Townsville’s young people and families at risk of homelessness. Please visit the Vinnies display at Castletown outside Big W during the week and donate. We are hoping to raise $12,000 during the week.

Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 28 July – 3 August 2019. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.  The theme for this year’s celebrations is:  Many Voices. One Spirit.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society. There are 306 Catholic schools in Queensland and 30 schools in our Diocese that educate around 149,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

Happy Catholic Education Week