St Joseph's Catholic Church, Oakham

Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In the light of the current crisis unfolding in Ukraine,

Pope Francis will lead an Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary this coming Friday, 25th March, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, at 5pm Rome time (4pm UK time).

The Bishops of England and Wales, in prayerful solidarity, will make the Act of Consecration in their Cathedrals at some suitable point that day. I will do so at the end of the 1pm Mass (with the Chapter), and I ask that you hold this prayer intention before your parishioners at all Masses on Friday. Please invite the children in their schools and the housebound, who are able, to pray the rosary (or a part of it) that day, so that everyone can be in prayerful solidarity with Pope Francis and the situation facing the people of Ukraine and Russia.

From the Catholic Social Action Network

Below is a link to the CSAN Ukraine Toolkit. This will be continually updated as more information is released by HM Government and other agencies regarding the support of Ukrainians arriving in this country. Please make the link available to parishes and Caritas agencies across the dioceses.

One key piece of advice to parishioners who are applying to host is to link with an organisation with refugee experience. The other main piece of advice is the decision by CSAN to focus on the Reset ‘matching’ service as the one to go to for people who wish to host, and indeed for Ukrainian people to register. There are a few options, but CSAN has decided to back Reset, with its experience of community sponsorship and knowledge in the field.

The weblink for Reset is here: https://www.homesforukraine.org.uk/
The weblink for the CSAN Ukraine Toolkit is here: https://www.csan.org.uk/ukraine/

With prayer and gratitude,

+ Patrick

Friday 18th March 2022