The second collection next weekend (30th June) is for Peter's Pence. This is the practice of the Iaity to provide financial support to the Holy See to allow the Holy Father the means to respond to those suffering as a result of war, oppression, natural disaster, and disease. Catholics around the world contribute roughly £70m annually through this collection. The US is the biggest contributor at 30%, followed by Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Brazil and South Korea. In 2017 this collection raised £15,191 which is fully remitted to the Apostolic Nunciature.

The final total raised at the Parish Fete was £4,426. There is a sheet on the noticeboard in the porch showing how much each individual stall raised. Many thanks to everyone once again.

Aged 20-40 and want to meet fellow young Catholics? Fancy a murder mystery and a sumptuous three-course meal? We have booked some tickets for a Murder Mystery Dinner at the four star Glynhill Hotel in Renfrew. Friday 19th July, 6:30pm. Email 2040network@gmail.com for more information.

To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Salesian Sisters arriving in Scotland, Mass will be celebrated by Bishop John Keenan at 3.00pm on Saturday 24th August in St. Fergus Church, Paisley. ALL are invited to share in this celebration of Holy Mass and for a buffet in the school hall afterwards. We would love to see people who have been involved with our work anywhere in Scotland. If you intend coming for and staying for the buffet please let us know for catering purposes. You can email your name and number of people coming to fmajubilee50@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there.

The relics of St Therese of Lisieux will be in our diocese from 14th –16th September. They will be at St Mary’s Church, Greenock from the evening of Saturday, 14th September until the morning of 15th, then they will be brought to St Mirin’s Cathedral on Sunday, 15th September until the afternoon of 16th. All are welcome to come and pray before the relics of The Little Flower

This will be held on Saturday, 22nd June from 2.00pm to 6.00pm. There will be a Barbecue, Bouncy Castle, Bake Off, Xbox Tournament, Tea Room, Beat the Goalie, Water Fight, Carnival Games (Hoopla and Hook the Duck), Tastings and Talent Show. Join us and let’s have fun!

The last week of Children’s Liturgy for this school year will be on Sunday, 23rd June. Children’s Liturgy will resume after the summer break, on Sunday, 18th August. All children who attend primary school are welcome to join us - we meet in the church hall just before the 10.30am Mass.

Over £4,000 has been raised from the proceeds of the fete. Once again, many thanks to everyone for their tremendous efforts in making it such a success. If you ran one of the stalls and wish to know how much your individual stall took in, please speak to someone in the Sacristy.

There will be a Mass of Thanksgiving and Celebration for Rev. Vincent Byrne's 25th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood on Monday, 1st July at 7pm in the Church of the Holy Family, 2 Parksail Avenue, Port Glasgow PA14 6BT. All are most welcome to attend. Tea and cakes in the hall afterwards.

On the 2nd of May two Early Day Motions (EDMs) have been lodged in the UK Parliament calling on the UK Government to suspend changes to new immigration rules for visiting priests to the UK and to meet with representatives of faith communities to hear their concerns over the visa changes. The new rules make it more difficult for priests to come to the UK on supply placements, a long established practice which provides essential support for parish priests and their local parish communities. Please follow the link to the Diocesan website for more information

Following the terrible attacks on Easter Sunday at churches in Sri Lanka, the Church there has set up an emergency fund and is appealing to Catholics worldwide to help rebuild the lives of those affected and their damaged Churches. We know Catholics in Scotland also want to contribute. Please make your donation online to Missio Scotland https:// www.missioscotland.com/sri-lankan-appeal or by post to Missio Scotland, 4 Laird Street, Coatbridge, ML5 3LJ.

Next Sunday Ryan, one of our students for the Priesthood, will be ordained a deacon at the Scots College in Rome by Bishop John. Please keep Ryan and our other students in your prayers at this time. If you would like to know more about the Diocesan Priesthood, please contact our Vocations Director, Father John Morrison via email: vocations@rcdop.org.uk or telephone 0141 889 5056.

Our diocese has arranged the services and pastoral ministry of our own Catholic Marriage Counsellor. If you are concerned about your relationship and feel you are both unable to reach a conclusion alone, it is likely that you will benefit from marriage counselling. You can find out more by following the link

The Diocese of Paisley is offering a summer camp for secondary school pupils in the present S1 and S2 this summer at Alton Castle near Birmingham. Come along for a 5-day program of faith-filled fun: Holy Mass, prayer, games, activities, Alton Towers & SO MUCH MORE! Transport from Paisley and back. The trip will be from the 4th to 8th August and costs £350.00. Places are limited. To reserve a place or find out more please contact Fr. John Morrison Tel 0141 8895056 or e-mail vocations@rcdop.org.uk.

This year’s Palm Sunday celebration of World Youth Day will take place at St. Mary’s, Greenock on Sunday 14th April from 2pm-6pm. The event is for Secondary School Pupils S3-S6. The event is open to all pupils in that age range and pupils participating in the Salamanca and Krakow pilgrimages are expected to attend. The program will include Mass at 4.30pm. Transport will be provided from Paisley leaving St. Mirin’s Cathedral at 1pm and leaving Greenock to return to Paisley at 6pm. Seats on the bus can be booked by e-mailing Father John Morrison at vocations@rcdop.org.uk . All participants must bring a signed consent form. Please ask your parish priest/school for a copy of the consent form.

Please take a few minutes to visit our Piety Stall. We have in stock a range of beautiful adult and children’s rosaries, communion and confirmation gifts and cards. Mass and sympathy cards, special intentions, thinking of you, new home, baby, christening, birthday and wallet gift cards are also available, all at very reasonable prices.

The diocese is introducing The Mass of St Francis to all parishes and we are trying to introduce it gradually. This mass will be sung at the Cathedral at the Chrism Mass. Anyone who wishes to listen to the new mass parts can find them on the internet on YouTube by searching The Mass of St Francis. There are various examples of music groups singing the parts.

Registration is now open for World Youth Day 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal!! Details of cost and dates will be advised soon! Register here https://rcdop.org.uk/world-youth-day

We have received the following letter from Elizabeth Alexander, Project Manager at Renfrewshire Foodbank. "Thank you so much for your very generous donations to Renfrewshire Foodbank. Over the last year you have donated 919.86 Kgs of food to Renfrewshire Foodbank. This is 2190 meals for people in crisis in our community. This comes at a time when we are seeing the already large numbers of people who need our help increase further with the roll out of Universal Credit in Renfrewshire. Thank you so much once again for your kindness to Renfrewshire Foodbank and the people of Renfrewshire.

Our Friends Fundraising Campaign has visited just over half our parishes and will visit the remainder, one by one, over the next two years. The hope was to eventually engender around £100,000pa from this fund through standing orders and direct debits. The good news is that parishioners across the diocese have so far signed up to £70,000pa this way, while others have topped it up to £83,000 through one off donations or fundraising events. This will allow us to fund: our Retired Priests’ Care, our five Seminarians and Vocations Promotion, our Marriage and Families Care, our Youth and Safeguarding Office, our SPRED Ministry and our contribution to our national Education, Parliamentary, Justice and Peace and Communications services. While carrying on this successful Fundraising Campaign we will also provide you with more information about each Special Second Collection through the year as it comes up to allow you a better informed giving. Many thanks to our fundraising team for their dedicated work and to all who have given so generously so far.