News
Prayer Intentions
During Ordinary Time (Winter) and up to Lent we are asked to pray for these intentions: Peace on Earth; Christian Unity; The sick and those who care for them; Victims of Trafficking and those who work to combat it; The Unemployed.
Lent 2020
26th February is Ash Wednesday. On this day, the Church formally summons its sons and daughters to enter into this period of prayer, almsgiving and self-denial, in preparation for the celebration of Easter. All Masses will include the rite of blessing and distributing ashes. The Masses will be as usual: Convent 8am; St Francis 12 noon. Although not a day of obligation, there will be an extra Mass at 7pm in Polish, for those who cannot make it to the other Masses.
Please note that it is a day of fasting for those between the ages of 18 and 60. It is also a day of abstinence from meat for everybody. Let us enter into this solemn period, asking Our Lord’s blessing on our penitential efforts, and pray especially for those who are preparing for the Easter sacraments.
Stations of the Cross – every Friday after 12.00 noon Mass in English and 7pm in Polish, throughout all of Lent.
The Lenten Alms Church Box is at the back of the Church.
Fr Wiaczeslaw Barok from Belarus
We welcome Fr Wiaczeslaw Barok from Belarus who came to learn English and will stay with us for 5 weeks. He attends the English classes at school and also helps Br Jarek with hearing confessions and saying Masses in Polish. Please keep him in your prayers.
The Re-dedication of England as the Dowry of Mary: Sunday 29th March 2020
The Statue of The Blessed Virgin Mary
This Re-dedication on March 29th 2020 is a both a personal promise of the people of our country, and a renewal of the entrustment vows made by King Richard II in 1381. On Sunday 29th March at 12noon, The Re-dedication will take place throughout the country. As King Richard II once gave England as a gift to Our Lady, so we are invited to give ourselves, as the people of this country, to Mary.
We respond to this invitation on the day of Re‑dedication in two ways; by making a personal promise and a communal entrustment.
Our personal promise brings us closer to Mary, the first disciple of Christ. In this we unite in her joy by following her openness to God’s call.
Our communal entrustment unites us together as the people of our country in prayer, by renewing the vows of dedication made to Mary by our ancestors.
More information on: https://www.behold2020.com/
Chester Pastoral Forum
After the initial meeting of the ‘Chester Pastoral Forum’ which took place on 22nd October 2018 we have decided to improve the communication between the Catholic Parishes in Chester. From this week onward on our parish noticeboard next to our parish newsletter we will put the newsletters from all other parishes, so every our parishioner would be able to see what is going on in Catholic Parishes in Chester. On our website we have added links to the Chester Church websites below.
Links to Chester Catholic Church Websites
- St Clare's Catholic Church, Downsfield Road, Chester, CH4 8HH
- St Werburgh's Catholic Church, Grosvenor Park Road, Chester, CH1 1QJ
- St Columba's Catholic Church, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
- St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 128 Blacon Avenue, Blacon, Chester, CH1 5BU
Holy Days Of Obligation 2020
Click on this link to the Liturgy Office for further information and a list of Liturgical Dates.
| Date | Holy Day (click on the name to find out further information) Weekday Mass Times - 12 Noon in English and 7.00pm in Polish | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 26th February | Ash Wednesday | ||
| Sunday 12th April | Easter Sunday | ||
| Thursday 21st May | Ascension Of The Lord | ||
| Sunday 31st May | Pentecost | ||
| Sunday 14th June | Corpus Christi - The Body and Blood of the Lord | ||
| Sunday 28th June | St Peter & St Paul | ||
| Sunday 16th August | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | ||
| Sunday 1st November | All Saints | ||
| Friday 25th December | Christmas, the Nativity of Our Lord | ||
Feast Days
The 'Feast Days' page has been added to the main menubar. There is now a direct link to the Wiki page for each feast day. Just click the name to open up the information in a new tab.
See Feast Days
| Date | Feast Day (click on the name to find out further information) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 21st February | St. Peter Damian Bishop, Doctor of the Church c1007 – 1072 | ||||||
| Saturday 22nd February | The Chair Of St. Peter Apostle | ||||||
| Date | Time | Intention |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 21st February | 12:00 noon | Vocations |
| Saturday 22nd February | 12:00 noon | Duncan Todd RIP |
| Vigil Mass | 6:30pm | Peggy McHugh |
| Sunday 23rd February | 8:00am | Parishioners |
| 9:45am | Ralph Bowker RIP | |
| 12:00 noon | Polish Mass - Intention of Donor | |
| 4:30pm | Polish Mass - Intention of Donor | |
| Monday 24th February | 12:00 noon | Friars and Benefactors |
| Tuesday 25th February | 12:00 noon | Eileen Garrett RIP |
| Wednesday 26th February | 12:00 noon | Nydia Gonzales RIP |
| Thursday 27th February | 12:00 noon | Josef Aniela Wielgasz RIP |
| Friday 28th February | 12:00 noon | Henry Todd RIP |
| Saturday 29th February | 12:00 noon | Jon Xabier |
Anniversaries
Prayers are requested for those whose anniversaries occur this month ✟ Requiescat in Pace ✟
| Date | Names |
|---|---|
| 21.2 | Eileen Jones (2016) |
| 24.2 | Mary Slater (1997) |
| 25.2 | John Fitzpatrick (2017), George John Hewitt (2015) |
| 26.2 | Margaret Peggy McHugh (2015), Alejandra (2010) Margaret Reynolds (2004) |
Collection
| Type | Amount | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collection: | £ 456.73 | ||||||
| Gift Aid: | £ 376.55 | ||||||
| Total: | £ 833.28 | ||||||
Notice of Second Collections
| Date | Second Collection |
|---|---|
| 7th/8th March | CAFOD Family Fast Day |
Gift Aid Scheme
Joining the scheme - for those people not taking part in the gift aid scheme, or those regularly completing white envelopes each week, if you would like to participate and obtain a box of weekly envelopes then please see Fr Jarek after Mass. Please note you need to be taxpayers to join. For every £1 donated by a taxpayer the parish can claim 25p from HM Revenue & Customs. Tax status - please note that if you are currently part of the scheme and no longer pay tax would you please let Fr Jarek know, otherwise it will be assumed that you have paid sufficient income tax for the parish to claim the tax on your donations.
Sick Parishioners
Please let us remember our sick parishioners in our prayers:
Angela Crowe, Terry Halpin, Kath Heffeman, Barbara Edwards, Kevin Roberts, Margaret Davis, Hilary Linty, Patrick Hannah, Elle Mae Dunne, Elaine Bruce, George Jones, Colin Williams, Christopher Browne, Gill Wright, Emma Noble, Veronica Comerford, Julia Milan, Eleanor Milan and Colette Lazenby.
Funeral Mass At Our Church
Funeral Mass for Mr George Martin Jones: Thursday 27th February 2020
We will have the funeral Mass of the late Mr George Martin Jones on Thursday 27th February 2020 at 12.00 noon, followed by committal at Chester Crematorium at 1.20pm.
George was our faithful parishioner coming to 6.30 pm Masses on Saturdays as long as he could and the last few years he was living at Chester Lodge Nursing. His way of dealing with pain and difficulties of daily life was inspirational to all who visited him. He was a great example of real Christian life. Please remember him in your prayers.
Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in Peace. Amen.
Diocesan Vacancies
When available, job vacancies are advertised on the Diocese of Shrewsbury website here.
Vacancies for Foundation Governors
We have a number of vacancies for Foundation Governors within our Catholic schools across Cheshire. In looking to such appointments, key requirements of Foundation Governors are: - that they should be practising Roman Catholics; and - that they genuinely believe in the value and the importance of Catholic Schools.
Is this you? Are you able to offer your services? For more information and/or an application pack please contact Sue Blackwell, Governance Support Officer, either by email: sue.blackwell@dioceseofshrewsbury.org or telephone on 0151 652 9855.
Receiving Holy Communion Practical Instruction:
For all of you who decided to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and while kneeling please come forward and take your place on the kneelers straight after the priest have received The Body and Blood of Christ. The priest will come to you with the Body of Christ.
For all of you who decided to receive Holy Communion in the hand please come forward as it was in procession after the priest finished distribution at the kneelers.
Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff: Communion Received on the Tongue and While Kneeling
From the time of the Fathers of the Church, a tendency was born and consolidated whereby distribution of Holy Communion in the hand became more and more restricted in favour of distributing Holy Communion on the tongue. The motivation for this practice is two-fold: a) first, to avoid, as much as possible, the dropping of Eucharistic particles; b) second, to increase among the faithful devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
There is the leaflet at the back of the church with more information and explanation on this subject. Please take and read it.
A copy of the leaflet is now available by clicking this link;
'Communion received on the tongue and while kneeling'
Redemptionis Sacramentum states: “it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing” (91). Although Mgr. Guido Marini, the Papal MC, has said that the Holy Father’s preference for communicants to receive Holy Communion on the tongue whilst kneeling better sheds light on the truth of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, he did so “without taking anything away from the other”, i.e. from standing to receive Holy Communion on the hand, where this is permitted (see the L’Osservatore Romano, 26 June, 2008).
GIRM 161. Permission for Communion in the hand for England and Wales was given 6 March 1976. Redemptionis Sacramentum reads: “Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice, if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the Sacred Host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful”
This Norm together with the General Instruction of the Roman Missal also provide choices which each recipient is at liberty to make: to receive the Sacred Host in the hand or on the tongue, either standing or kneeling.
Practical Instruction: For all of you who decided to receive Holy Communion on the tongue and while kneeling please come forward and take your place on the kneelers straight after the priest have received The Body and Blood of Christ. The priest will come to you with the Body of Christ.
For all of you who decided to receive Holy Communion in the hand please come forward as it was in procession after the priest finished distribution at the knee.
Franciscans In Chester: St Francis' Church and Friary Photographs Wanted
They say that a photograph is worth a thousand words. We are currently looking for any photographs of St Francis Church and St Francis Roman Catholic school in Cuppin Street, 'the Sisters' (ie the Faithful Companions of Jesus from Dee House) or other teachers and pupils at the school. Any photographs used will be credited, scanned and made available on-line as part of the history of St Francis School and Church. Please pass any photographs in and envelope with your name, address and a contact number to one of the Brothers. We will simply scan which photographs we wish to use and pass them back to you.
The book can be found by clicking on a new tab on the top menu called 'History'. It was originally published in 2000 to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the consecration of St Francis’s church in Chester and the 125th anniversary of its opening.
A guided tour of the church was published on our website last year and the full book has now been digitally published over the last twelve months setting out the Catholic and Franciscan history which gave rise to the church, friary and parish.
The book has been brought completely up-to-date with new pictures and topics in this digital edition. Be sure to have a look at our 'History' page and discover the origins of our beautiful Church.
The Journey in Faith Group (RCIA)
The Journey in Faith Group (RCIA) meet each Wednesday at 6:45pm in the Church. This group is meant, not only for those interested in becoming Catholics, but also for practising Catholics who would like to deepen their faith.
Thursday Prayer Group
We are so grateful to God that for over a year now we have been meeting weekly to pray, to reflect and to share. We pray for our parish and our country in the sacramental presence of our Lord. We reflect on inspired readings and most of all on God’s Word. We share our thoughts and life experiences as Christian brothers and sisters. You are more than welcome to join in weekly, or biweekly or just once in a while when you can make it on Thursday evenings from 6:30 p.m. in the choir of the friary. Entrance is through the green friary door.
If you have questions call deacon Peter on 07497 752272. See you there!
The Rosary: 11:30am Monday - Friday
The custom of praying the Rosary as a family is strongly encouraged, even if it is just to say one decade. In our Parish, the rosary is recited at 11:30am, Monday to Thursday, and all are welcome to join in.
Eucharistic Adoration at St Francis Church
Every Friday from 11.00 am – 12 noon and after Mass until 3.00 pm
Also Saturday from 11.00 am – 12 noon
Divine Mercy Prayer Group
Our Divine Mercy Prayer Group is held every Wednesday 3:00pm in the Church.
Youth Group for 10 - 14 Year Olds
Our new St. Columba's and St. Theresa's youth group, began meeting on Monday 9th October 2017, from 7.15 to 9pm. The group will meet on the second Monday of each month in the Iona Chapel, at the back of St. Columba's church, then move over to the church hall. Each session will have a relevant theme, lots of faith based activities, games and fun, ending with prayers. If your child would like to join please email Anthony Hunt on Hunta@christofidelis.org.uk for more information, the consent form and so we can get refreshment numbers.
Shrewsbury Youth Mission Team
Dave Burke from the Shrewsbury Youth Mission Team introduced the work of the team at our Sunday masses on Sunday 8th April 2018. He explained their vision to encourage, empower and equip the young people, and youth leaders of the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
They continually plan an exciting calendar of events, from regional evenings of music and games, to larger national events like Lourdes, Flame and World Youth Day. This is as well as providing on the ground support of Confirmation Retreat Days, Youth Leaders Training Courses, workshops and training within Schools and much much more!
All the information about the team can be found on their website. www.symt.org.uk
Details of their Lifeteen Summer Camp UK #LTCAMPUK have been posted on our news and events pages. Their website has also been included in our useful links.
Virtual Church Tour
Our virtual Church tour is now live and accessible via the 'TOUR' tab on the far right of the menu bar or by clicking 'Tour' on the Latest News item. Please have a look and let the other people know how interesting and informative it is. We found it fascinating and learnt so much about St Francis Church and it's history. Alan, Peter and Bernard have done a great job with the tour. We are sure that people all over the world would enjoy a virtual tour of our beautiful Church.
Prayers Web Page
We have set up a very special web page on our internet site which records all the anniversaries of family and friends who have died in the Parish. Throughout 2016 we will be updating this page adding dates of death and special epitaphs.
The page says the following; 'Prayers are requested for those whose anniversaries occur this month. May they Rest In Peace.' Due to the size of the list and the work involved in updating the list, names will be added to the web page each month during 2015 as the year progresses. It is also possible to include the date of death and a short personalised epitaph for your loved ones which will be displayed next to their name. To add relatives, dates or a personalised epitaph to the anniversary list please email to information to; stfrancis.chester@gmail.com We will try to update your information as soon as possible but please allow up to 28 days for the website to be updated.
See Prayers Web Page
The Order Of Mass: Printable Leaflets
We have included an on-line link to the printable 'Order Of Mass' leaflets from the Liturgy Office website which we will leave on our website as a 'Useful Link'.
Here is a direct link to the web page The Order of Mass Printable Leaflets