Here are the announcements for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the 27th of September:
FATIMA DAY
The main celebrant for October will be the Most Reverend Columba MacBeth Green OSPPE DD, Bishop of Wolcannia-Forbes.
APPOINTMENT TO PENROSE PARK
As of the 5th October 2026, Fr Peter James Strohmayer OSPPE, has been appointed to the Pauline community of Penrose Park.
Fr Peter has spent the last few years as Parish Priest of St Gertrude’s, Smithfield and has worked in the Parish of St Margaret Mary’s, Merrylands, prior to that.
We welcome Fr Peter into the community and we pray that he will have a productive ministry here at the Shrine.
25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CORONATION OF OUR LADY OF MERCY
There are a few more celebrations organised to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Coronation so please stay tuned to the bulletin and the Shrine Social media for updates.
ANNUAL RETREAT
Every year the Pauline Fathers and Brothers gather for their annual retreat. The year the retreat was held at Marian Valley, Canungra, Queensland from Monday 21st September to Friday 25th September 2026. Thank you for keeping all the Fathers and Brothers in your prayers at this time. Each member has come back spiritually rejuvenated.
A big THANK YOU to Fr Isidore for looking after the Shrine while the rest of the community were away and for the volunteers that assisted him.
JUBILEE YEAR OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
We are in the midst of the Jubilee Year of St Francis, commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of
the beloved Poor Man of Assisi. The Jubilee Year extends from 10 January 2026 to 10 January 2027.
The Apostolic Penitentiary has decreed that a Plenary Indulgence be granted to all the Faithful, “who, with a heart detached from sin, participate in the Year of Saint Francis by visiting, in the form of a pilgrimage, any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship anywhere in the world dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him for any reason […] concluding with the Our Father, the Creed and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family” (Decree, 16 January 2026).
To gain the special Jubilee indulgence within the Diocese of Wollongong, you are encouraged to make a pilgrimage, on any suitable day, to St Francis of Assisi Church, Warrawong or to St Michael’s Church, Thirroul and observe the conditions given above. Special Masses will be celebrated in both parishes for the Feast of St Francis on Sunday 4 October. May St Francis – whose life of holy simplicity renewed the Church and changed the course of history – intercede for us and inspire us to live the Gospel with our whole heart. Please contact the above parishes for further information.