Welcome to the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Oxford
Sacred Heart Church in Blackbird Leys, Oxford is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. We hope that you will find our website useful and enjoy searching through the various aspects of life in the parish. Here you will be able to check our weekly newsletter, news and forthcoming parish events, read about how to go about with Sacramental preparation and find out Mass times and other services.
Whatever your reason for visiting us, we pray that God will bless your search and grant you many blessings
Parish Priest : Fr. Harry Curtis
(Also serving Our Lady of Christians, Cowley, 01865 770910)
E-mail : fr.harry.curtis@rcaob.org.uk
Parish Secretary : Reena Bartrip
10:00 am – 1:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Telephone : 01865 455182
E-mail : sacredheart.oxford@rcaob.org.uk
This Parish operates in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance and the National and Archdioceses policies & procedures at all times. At present, our Parish Safeguarding Representative is Onyi Anyanwu. She can be contacted at: sg.sacredheart.oxford@rcaob.org.uk or alternatively the Diocesan Safeguarding team can be contacted on 0121 230 6240/ safeguarding@rcaob.org.uk if you have any concern. For more details, visit the page Safeguarding.
A message from the Archbishop: “Dear friends,
This weekend we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, when the Church prays especially for vocations to the priesthood. I want to ask you to join me in praying today that all those whom Our Lord is calling will respond with courage and generosity to his invitation to serve their brothers and sisters as priests in our Archdiocese.
If you feel that the Good Shepherd might indeed be calling you – and if you are 18 or over – I would ask you to write to me directly at archbishop@rcaob.org.uk.
I shall be happy to meet you, with our Vocations Director, Fr Craig Szmidt, and to hear your story as you try to discern what the Lord is asking of you today and in the years ahead. Please pray for me and for all our priests.
With my prayers and kindest wishes.
+Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham”
There will be the annual second collection for the Clergy Training Fund at Masses today.
Young Discerners’ Group. Are you a young man in School Years 9-13 who wants to explore a Vocation to the Catholic priesthood? Come to St. Mary’s College, Oscott, in Birmingham on Saturday, 9th May, 10.30-4.00. To find out more, or to book, contact Deacon Owen Gresty, deacon.owen@vocations.org.uk or 0121 3215135. The day is free, but booking is essential.
Sacred Heart Youth Group. There will be the annual outing to the Malvern hills on Sunday, 21st June. Please speak to Joyce for more information.
Cowley Salesian Cooperators warmly invite you to celebrate Holy Mass with them on 23rd May at 12.00 noon in Our Lady’s church for the 150th Salesian Cooperators anniversary. Please join us with an open heart to commemorate the dream and work that continues today because of St John Bosco. There will be light refreshments after Mass in the Mornese Centre at Elmthorpe Convent. You can leave cars in Our Lady’s church car park.
Easter Duties. Because of the central importance of Easter to the Christian faith, the Church says that all Catholics who have made their First Holy Communion should receive the Holy Eucharist sometime between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost Sunday. They should also take part in the Sacrament of Penance before receiving this Easter Communion.
Confirmations. Bishop Richard will be with us on Saturday, 31st October, for the Sacrament of Confirmation. If, for some reason, you do not want to wait that long for the Sacrament, please come and speak to me because there will be Confirmations at Our Lady’s in June and you might be able to join that group.
Safeguarding Training for Volunteers. Do you volunteer to do anything at Sacred Heart Church (thank you, if you do)? If so, do you know your responsibilities in keeping people safe? Whatever your role, it is essential that you get some training, please. There is FREE training available online, which you can do at your own pace and your own time. It has been put together by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA). You can get it on the CSSA website at training.catholicsafeguarding.org.uk. Please speak to Onyi, our parish safeguarding rep, if you want more info.
Tailpiece: A priest was walking down the street when he saw a group of boys, standing around a dog. Worried that they might be hurting it, the priest went over and asked what they were doing. One of the boys replied, “Father, this dog is a stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we’ve decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog.” Of course, the priest was shocked. “You shouldn’t be having a contest telling lies!” he exclaimed. “Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie.” There was dead silence for a minute, then one of the boys gave a deep sigh and said, “Oh…all right fellers, he’s won. Give him the dog.”
May God bless you and all those whom you love.
Fr. Harry
For more details please see the Newsletter for the week.
Sacred Heart Oxford 