Archbishop Peter visted and celebrated Mass at St Peter's Residence, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, in Vauxhall on the eve of the feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

The celebration continued after in the grounds

The annual diocesan Day for Catechists was held at St George’s Cathedral and the Amigo Hall on Saturday 27th June, attended by over 200 catechists from throughout the diocese.

The initial talk on ‘Jesus Christ as Catechist’
was given by Sr Hyacinthe Dufos Du Rau, OP.

There were several workshops in the afternoon, ranging from using the Anchor and Transformed in Christ programmes to The Significance of Baptism and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

The day ended with Mass, at which the Archbishop sent out the catechists to catechize on his behalf.

Next year the Day for Catechists will be held on
Saturday 24th September
to co-incide with the Jubilee Year Day for Catechists.

The Missionaries of St Paul held as special Mass to celebrate three of the MSP priests in the UK who were marking significant anniversries of ordination. It took place on the eve of the feast of St Peter and St Paul in Our Lady of the Rosary, Brixton on 27th June 2015. Archbishop Peter was delighted to be able to join them, and presdie at the Mass.

The mission of the society to Europe started in the United Kingdom in 2000 when Fr. Addison Okpeh joined the Archdiocese of Southwark and was appointed to the Cathedral parish as an assistant priest.
In 2002 Father Eustace Durugbo and Father Casmir Dike arrived to join Father Addison in Southwark.

Over the years other members of the congregation have come to work in the Archdiocese of Southwark and to date the Missionaries of St Paul of Nigeria are serving in six parishes: Brixton, which is their Provincial House in the United Kingdom, Beckenham Hill and Bellingham, Deptford, Norbiton, Gravesend, Stockwell, and Nunhead where Father Addison Okpeh now works as the Parish Priest.

The current Provincial, Father Eustace Durugbo MSP is serving as Parish Priest in Our Lady of the Rosary, Brixton.
In addition a number of MSP priests have also worked as assistant priests in a number of our parishes and as chaplains to Schools and Hospitals.

A Mass to mark the 60th Anniversary of the opening of Our Lady of the Rosary School in Blackfen was celebrated in the school by Archbishop Peter on 23rd June 2015

The celebration continued with Afternoon Tea for invited guests and an
exhibition of the school’s history

Archbishop Peter Smith confered the Sacrament of Confirmation on the young people of the Deanery of Thanet on 21st June 2015

The parishes of Birchington, Broadstairs, Cliftonville, Margate, Ramsgate and Minster, Westgate join together for this celebration

On Sunday 28th June at St Paul's Church, Meopham, Father Paul Mason, the Episcopal Vicar for Kent presented six people with the Diocesan Medal, Fideliter Servienti, in celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the opening of the Church.
Everyone present was given a commemorative candle.

On Saturday, 20th June 2015, Archbishop Peter presided at the Annual Mass in Celebration of Marriage at Saint George's Cathedral.

This Mass is celebrated each year in the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St George for couples celebrating their 1st, 10th, 25th, 40th and 50th + year of marriage.
All the faithful are welcome to attend but anniversarians who apply before the event receive a personal invitation from the Archbishop.

More photos are on the RCSouthwark Flickr page

On the 19th June 2015 Archbishop Peter Smith joined the community of the St. John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School  in Chatham to celebrate their Feast Day in their Golden Jubliee year

Headteacher, Mrs Catherine Burnett, said 'St John Fisher staff and students were privileged to welcome Archbishop Peter Smith to celebrate our 50th anniversary feast day with us.
The day was one of celebration for a community who strives to embody the vision of our patron saint in finding the extraordinary in every individual.'

More photos are on the RCSouthwark Flickr page

Laudato si' - On the Care for our Common Home is the Pope's Encyclical Letter on the environment and human ecology.



From the CBCEW website
Pope Francis challenges us to consider the kind of world we want to leave to those who come after us. It's not just an 'environment encyclical', it leads us to ask ourselves about the meaning of existence and the values at the heart of social life: "What is the purpose of our life in this world? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us?"
Pope Francis, quoting Pope Saint John Paul II, reminds us that, as Christians, we are called to be responsible custodians of creation: "Christians in their turn ‘realise that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith’".
The Encyclical is divided into six chapters.
It starts by presenting the current situation based on the best scientific findings available today (Chapter one), followed by a review of the Bible and Judeo-Christian tradition (Chapter 2).
The root of the problems in technocracy and in an excessive self-centeredness of human being are analysed in Chapter 3.
In Chapter 4, the Encyclical then proposes an “integral ecology, which clearly respects its human and social dimensions”, inextricably linked to the environmental question.
With this in mind, Pope Francis proposes to initiate an honest dialogue at every level of social, economic and political life, that builds transparent decision-making processes (Chapter 5).
In the final chapter, recalling that no project can be effective if it is not animated by a formed and responsible conscience, ideas are put forth to aid growth in this direction at the educational, spiritual, ecclesial, political and theological levels.
The text ends with two prayers. One offered for sharing with everyone who believes in “God who is the all powerful Creator”, and the other to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, punctuated by the refrain "Praise be to you!" which opens and closes the Encyclical.
Several central themes run through the text that are addressed from a variety of different perspectives, thus traversing and unifying the text:

• the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet 
• the conviction that everything in the world is connected
• the critique of new paradigms and forms of power derived from technology
• the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress 
• the value proper to each creature 
• the human meaning of ecology
• the need for forthright and honest debate
• the serious responsibility of international and local policy

• the throwaway culture and the proposal of a new lifestyle

Download
You can download a 10-page PDF summary that will guide you through an initial reading of the Encyclical and the full Encyclical Laudato si' by using the links below or to the right of this article.

Laudato si' 556.55 kB
Laudato si' - Summary 223.57 kB

Purchase
If you want to buy a hard copy of Laudato si', you can pre-order from the Catholic Truth Society.
Click to purchase for £4.95  ISBN: 9781784690700

The celebrations continued in St Joseph's Primary School

More photos are on the RCSouthwark Flickr page

Archbishop Peter visted The Cedars School in Purely and concelebrated Mass in the New Chapel on Friday 12th June 2015

Also present were Reverend Father Jorge Boronat and Monsignor Nicholas Morrish, the Regional Vicar of Opus Dei for Great Britain since 1998 

On Thursday 11th June 2015 Archbishop Peter visited St Anthony's Primary School to bless the new library and referbished offices

The day began with a school Mass in St. Anthony of Padua Church

The Archbishop then blessed new library and offices

And ended the day with a prayer with the children

On Wednesday 10th June 2015 Archbishop Peter joiin the community of St Patrick - Waterloo to celebrate 100 years of the parish being established

Concelebrating with Archbishop Peter Smith was Custos - Father Peter Damian OFM Conv., St Patrick's Parish Priest Father David Young OFM Conv., Father Jesmond Pawley OFM Conv., Father Mario Sant OFM Conv. and Father Stephen Borg OFM Conv.


After Mass the celebrations continued in a nearby hall

More photos are on the RCSouthwark Flickr page

At Beckenham Hill and Bellingham on 5 June Bishop Pat conferred the ministry of Lector on Fidelis Iwu (Beckenham Hill), Paul Henshaw (Beckenham Hill), Amgad Gerges (Forest Hill) and Roland Gooding (Westerham), and the ministry of Acolyte on Ged Perkins (Norbury).

This Saturday (13 June) Archbishop Peter will confer Candidacy on Carlos Lozano (Lewisham), Garry Cullen (Bromley), Oluwole Alayo (Plumstead), Tony Wentworth (Plumstead), Paul Said (Sutton Green) and Antonio Almeida (Portugese Chaplaincy).

On 4 July His Grace will ordain four men to the Permanent Diaconate, Simon English (Tooting Bec), Tom McCarthy (Tooting Bec), Julian Burling (Wimbledon) and Peter Sebastian (Surbiton).

Two other ministries have been, or will be, conferred within the diocese. On 15 May James Joice Pallickamyalil was institute as Acolyte (sub deacon) in the Syro Malabar rite Bishop Sebastian Vadakel and on 21 June Robert Smith (Westerham) will be instituted as an Acolyte in the Ordinariate by Mgr Keith Newton.