The International Music Festival 9
This festival took place on Saturday 30th November 2024. It was a great event and much appreciated by those who attended. We were entertained and inspired by all four choirs and the four soloists. This is such an enjoyable event and an important day in the annual calendar of the Parish.
Visit of our Catholic Women’s Organisation to the Bishop
The bishop wrote the following: “I was very pleased to have a visit at Wardley Hall of the new Catholic Women’s Organisation (CWO) as they celebrate their first anniversary, since their foundation. They are currently attached to two parishes: Sacred Heart, Rochdale and Our Lady and St Patrick, Oldham. The membership has greatly increased in the first year and the organisation would be pleased to develop in other parishes. Originally formed mainly of African women, from various countries, the membership now includes a wide variety of ethnic origin as well as lifelong residents of Rochdale and Oldham…It may well prove to be an answer to lay engagement at a time when so many of our organisations have been finding difficulties in recruitment. We must be sure to get them listed in next year’s Yearbook…”
CARJ CONFERENCE
Yogi Sutton, the Chair of the Catholic Association for Racial Justice, wrote to me after the Conference on 21st September, here at St. Patrick’s. She wrote: “The celebration today was exceptionally good. The content of the talks and the delicious food, the wonderful people, the most enjoyable Mass and music, the atmosphere and, all in all, the learning…Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Yogi Sutton.
SOLAR PANELS ON THE PRESBYTERY
The scaffolding team arrived, as promised, on Monday September 8th along with the team to install the panels. By Tuesday night, everything was installed, and the panels are now sometimes producing over 7 kilowatts of electricity.
Occasionally, we use more electricity than that (especially if Father Phil is charging his car!) but, more often than not, less. When we use less, the system will charge a battery installed in the garage, which we can draw energy off at other times.
VIOLENT PROTESTS BY THE FAR RIGHT ACROSS THE UK
As a result of the terrifying and lawless protests across the country at the beginning of August, organised by the far right, Fr. Phil reported on the fear and anger he was hearing from among the Muslim and Black communities.
He was invited to speak at Pitt Street Mosque on Friday, during their Friday prayers and he invited a Muslim Imam to say a few words at the end of our Sunday morning Mass about how the Muslim communities had been feeling. In the Mosque, he spoke about the great friendship between the Pope and the Grand Imam of the Al Azhar Mosque in Egypt, and about the declaration of Fraternity that they signed together in 2019. Their message is an example to us always, but especially after the unrest and the violence witnessed.
VISIT OF BISHOP HA (the auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong)
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The Greater Manchester Chinese Catholic Community had a visit from the auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong. This meant that, as their chaplain, I was invited to a meal at the home of the Bishop of Salford, along with the Bishop of Shrewsbury and the two Vicars General of the Salford Diocese.
After the meal, Bishop Ha was taken around the Laudato Si Centre and shown the various elements of the project. The next day, about 400 members of the community celebrated Mass with Bishop Ha at St Mary’s Eccles. Then, about 80 members sat down for a Chinese banquet with the bishop and me in a Chinese restaurant. Being chaplain to the Chinese Catholic community does have some perks!
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YCW AT AN INTERNATIONAL EVENT IN TURIN, ITALY
In July, more than ten of our YCW group travelled to Turin in Italy for a European gathering of activists (Rassemblement Européen des Militantes et Militants). These meetings are for the equivalent of Young Christian Worker members across Europe.
The theme of the event was “Migration, towards new horizons.’ More than 200 young people attended the event, over three days, to discuss and learn about the challenges faced by young migrants.
Two of our young people, Celestino and Famous, were invited to speak at the event along with young people from France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Celestino wrote, “It was amazing to hear what they do in their country and to have some inspiration to do something similar. But we also learnt from some of their mistakes…We’ve made so many friends and our group, from England and Wales, was voted the friendliest group by the hosting group (Italy).” Our young people were also asked to perform one of the songs that they sing in St. Patrick’s on their youth Sundays. They performed, ‘You are great’
YCW EVENT – FIFA 24 TOURNAMENT
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Our young people from the YCW Impact group held another event last Sunday at the Primrose Bank Community Centre, both to enjoy themselves and to make some money for the Terence O’Grady Social Club, for people with learning difficulties.
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It was another very successful event, as a result of which they made £704.00 for the said project. There were many games played using about four separate screens. Some games were singles matches and some doubles.
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The overall winner of the singles matches was Peo; he won £60. The second prize in the singles matches went to Trevor; he won £20.
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The winning pair in the ‘doubles’ competition was Delvon and Konny; they won £30. Finally, there was a match between Peo and Celestino (who had already been adjudged as the YCW’s best player) to see who the GOAT was (the greatest of all time).
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This was a thrilling match which ended in a victory for Celestino (3-2).
YOUTH SUNDAY 2024
On Sunday 24th March (Palm Sunday) it was the turn of the Youth Choir (YCW Impact Group) to sing at the Mass and to take on many of the ministries. Once more, they filled the church with their energy and sang so well. Our appreciation goes to them and to Laurina for continuing to bring them together. We are so blessed. The group got together for a photograph at the end of the service.
MOTHERS' DAY 2024
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Mothers’ Day 2024 saw many of the African mothers and others dressing in blue and white and leading the offertory procession. The Mass, that day was said by Canon Michael Job, with Fr. Phil concelebrating. After Mass, some gathered for photographs.
YCW CHRISTMAS MEAL FOR THE OVER 60S
The YCW Impact Group put on a spectacular meal for the over 60’s on 23rd December 2023. They went to great lengths to decorate the room and dress the tables to give the impression of an expensive restaurant. So much food was prepared with great variety but including what some would expect as a traditional Christmas meal.
The young people welcomed everyone on arrival and served us assiduously throughout the afternoon. They then, with such energy, engaged those who joined in a Christmas quiz and other entertainment, including singing and dancing. Our young people should be proud of themselves, as we are proud of them.
MAGGIE'S CULTURE CRAWL 2023
The Filipino community did us proud again, welcoming the people on the Culture Crawl and entertaining and feeding about 200.
We also received the following message from Maggie's
“What a fantastic night we had at Culture Crawl last Friday. Everyone absolutely loved their visit to St Patricks – it was by far a crowd favourite, yet again! The Choir, WOW! You guys are just so FAB!!! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves just as much as we all did 😊 Everyone loved you!
I honestly can’t thank you all enough for giving up your Friday evenings for us, for welcoming us with such open arms, and for your generous hospitality.
We’ve already raised £12,500, and we’re still counting! It’s by far our biggest and best ever Culture Crawl, and every penny raised will make the biggest difference here at Maggie’s. “
Well done everyone that took part!
CORNERSTONE DONATION 2023
Four of our YCW members went with Father Phil to Cornerstone and saw the work being carried out there for the homeless. They had a brief tour of the place and of the ‘Morning Star Hostel, which is in an adjoining building. They asked questions of the Manager of Cornerstone and saw quite a few of the clients, without, hopefully, intruding too much on their privacy.
Festival of Light 2022
Our young people, from the YCW Impact group, were ‘top of the bill’ at the Festival of Light in December 2022 and they did us proud yet again. It was a very cold night, but they warmed it up with their enthusiastic performance. There were several of our parishioners who also attended the event. A photographic report is given here.
International Music Festival 7
On Saturday 3rd December, the Parish celebrated its annual ‘International Music Festival for the seventh time’. While not many unparticipating parishioners attended the event, one who did attend, said ‘People don’t know what they missed; this was a fantastic afternoon’s entertainment!’
Masquerade Ball 2022
On Saturday 19th November the St. Patrick’s YCW Impact Group put on a further event to raise money for the homeless. Their choice of event, this time, was a masquerade ball. The music for the evening was mixed, with group dances like ‘Macarena’ and ‘Jerusalema’, music from our talent show artists (and others – we have so much talent!), a little ballroom, and even Gangnam style.
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YCW Talent Show 2022
Our first ever YCW Talent Show 2022 took place last weekend on Saturday 3rd September at St Edward's Parish Hall. It was a charity event hosted to raise money for the homeless.
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YCW Car Wash for the Homeless
The Car wash event, by our YCW group, was a great success. The weather was fantastic. The young people made £268.20p.
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Young People's Week Away
The Our Lady and St. Patrick’s YCW group returned from Wales after having a week together. One young person wrote, “It has been an amazing week filled with laughter and lessons to learn…We learnt how to work together with other cultures and people.”
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Father Phil's 70TH Birthday
Unknowningly to Father Phil, certain members of our Parish; in fact, pretty much all of the members of our parish, had been planning the a very special party for a very special person. He thought that he was going to a celebration of the anniversary of Filipine Independance but thanks to his eagle eye and a couple of stray parishioners, and a certain person asking way too many questions, he began to suspect that maybe he wasn't.
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Youth Mass 2022
On 15th May 2022, the young people of the parish took on all the liturgical roles, apart from that of the priest!
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The 6th Annual International Music Festival 2019
Click the picture of the Youth Choir to reach our 6th Annual International Music Festival page. Lots of pics and videos of the event.
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The New Stained Glass Window
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Here is the proposed design for the stained-glass window. We are aware that the dates are wrong; for St Patrick’s, it should read 1858, not 1852. But that will be changed, and a date added for St. Mary’s (1836).
The First Mass of Christmas 2018
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Christmas 2018 saw the very first 'First Mass of Christmas' of our new parish; The Parish of Our Lady and St Patrick. The church was standing room only and there was not a lot of that.
The Folk Group and the Filipino, African and Indian choirs sang parts of the Mass while 'Nostro Coro', our parish choir, sang carols before Mass and also sang 'Silent Night' in german with a guitar accompaniment by our Parish Organist to celebrate its 200th anniversary.
We also had a duet from two of our younger parishioners. They sang 'O Holy Night' as Father Phil and the atlar servers processed into church.
The 5th Annual International Music Festival 2018
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For the last 5 years the various groups within our church community have gathered to celebrate the diversity of our community. This year's festival saw a growth in the work done with our youth groups and highlighted some real talent among our younger parishioners. Next year's will be on the 30th November. Put the date in your diary now!
Maggies Cultures Walk 2018
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Wow, just wow! I’m actually a little lost for words – you absolutely blew us all away on Friday with your stunning church and you magnificent and moving performances.
I really can’t thank you enough for your generosity of giving up your evenings to support our event, providing such a delicious spread, and for just being so incredibly welcoming. Not to mention, the incredibly kind donations made to Maggie’s by you and your parishioners – I’ll let you know once we’ve counted up and have a grand total for the amount raised. I’ll also send a thank you note that you can share with everyone.
I have to tell you that our visit to St Patricks was by far a crowd favourite! It also went down very well on Facebook, we took a live video whilst you were performing and it’s been seen by 2500 people and has received a lot of love! I think everyone can’t believe that you’re right on their doorsteps and yet they have never stepped inside and seen the beauty of the church or heard the glorious sounds of your choir.
I’m delighted to share that the evening was a really big success for us on many levels – we have a lot of very happy supporters and we’re on track to raise £10,000 from the event too, which is just an amazing sum of money for our Centre. This all really wouldn’t have been possible without your generous support – so thank you!
Family Funday
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Many thanks to so many people, too numerous to mention individually, who organised and helped in any way to make the day another success. The warm and dry weather was a perfect setting for another afternoon of fun events and food. The highlight being the Tug of War. A great time was had by all.
The last Mass at St Mary's
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The 3rd June 2018 saw the last Mass being celebrated at St Mary's. Bishop John Arnold concelebrated the Mass with Father Phil. While it was sad to see the church close, it was uplifting to see the parishioners supported by those from the surrounding parishes.
The Redecoration of St Patrick's Church - July 2017
Our sincere thanks to the decorators, Bernard Watson, Clare Watson and their team, and to Neil Blake and his team from Anthony J. Smith, Ltd., who have carried out the electrical installation. Both the decorators and the electricians have gone the extra mile to accommodate our existing commitments as a Parish. In the face of many problems, they have also all done an amazing job, of which they can be truly proud. Our thanks also to John Cowdall and Joe Burke from the Historic Churches Commission. They have rightly always insisted on high quality schemes or projects, but have given so generously of their time to speed through our applications. Finally, our thanks to Vicky Saunders and Amy Jones from the Bernard Taylor Partnership (our architects), who have guided us through the whole process with good humour and considerable professionalism.
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The 4th Annual International Music Festival 2017
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For the fourth of our music festivals we had the pleasure of listening to our various groups that perform regularly at services. We were also pleased welcome a new friend, Mohibur Miah who played a specially composed piece on Sitar for us.
March 2015
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Things got a bit busy in March with the planned Deanery Lenten Station Mass on St. Patrick's Day and the last minute visit from our new Bishop, on the Sunday before it. Did we panic? Not at all.
Oldham Carnival 2014
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On the 22nd June 2014 the Filipinos community took part in the 114th Oldham Carnival. They entertained the crowds with their music and dancing.
Sister Eileen's Retirement
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In May 2013 Sister Eileen made the difficult decision to retire. She had served the Parish and the Local Community for over 10 years. Even though she didn't want any fuss at all it didn't quite happen that way and while there were lots of smiles it was very sad to see her leave.
150th Anniversary
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2008 saw the 150th Anniversary of Catholic Worship on St Patrick's Site. below are some pictures from the Anniversary Mass and Jubilee Ball.
The BBC come to St Patrick's
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On Sunday 9th September 2007 the parish made history when the BBC came to record their Sunday Worship broadcast from St Patrick's. The programme was recorded on the previous tuesday evening and a great vote of thanks is due to all who participated.