News

At the BCYS Youth Gather held at Essex Outdoors on Mersea Island (25–26 October), young people from across the Diocese of Brentwood were given the opportunity not only to reflect on issues affecting their communities, but also to make their voices heard by writing to their local Members of Parliament. The sessions were led by Caritas Brentwood’s Director and Development Officer, who introduced participants to the organisation’s work supporting communities across Essex and Eas

You are warmly invited to join the three Dioceses of Brentwood, Southwark and Westminster for the 20th annual Mass for Migrants on Bank Holiday Monday, 4th May 2026 at St Antony of Padua Catholic Church, starting at 12pm with a procession of banners. This year the Mass is hosted by the Diocese of Brentwood. The Mass for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker is prepared by the Caritas and Ethnic Chaplaincies of the three Dioceses and celebrates the contributions made to faith, lif

On Friday 9th January, De La Salle School welcomed Richard Holden MP for an insightful and engaging visit with their student leadership team. During the visit, the MP for Basildon and Billericay spoke about his role as a Member of Parliament, shared experiences from his career in politics, and encouraged students to ask questions and express their views. The conversation gave students a unique opportunity to understand the workings of government and the impact their voices ca

Refugee Community Kitchen (charity no. 1186729) helps serve hot, nutritional meals to displaced in the UK and France, and are looking for fresh volunteers to help support their kitchen which serves hot food 6 days a week. It’s been a really long cold snap in Calais and the team at Refugee Community Kitchen are working hard to get hot food to displaced people. They have started cooking and distributing food six days per week due to the recent weather, and are monitoring this t

Basildon Emergency Night Shelters offer friendly, welcoming and safe spaces for people experiencing homelessness and strives to make them as comfortable as possible. The project is volunteer led, with 60-70+ volunteers who staff evening and morning shifts. BENS is a grassroots initiative of Churches Together in Basildon, delivered by ACE Impact CIC, their simple yet vital mission is to offer warmth, safety and support to people experiencing homelessness across the Basildon ar

In January, we had the privilege to hear about the dedicated work of parishioners in St Francis of Assisi Parish in Stratford. Des Hoddy, Pastoral Assistant at St Francis’, gave a brief talk about the important work carried out by the parish’s volunteers. We have adapted the content of Des’ talk into the article below. St Francis of Assisi Parish, Stratford is committed to offering hope to those experiencing homelessness in the local area. Guided by their faith and supported

Dear friends of Caritas Brentwood, Welcome to our Papal Insights, in this edition we have a couple of the Pope’s weekly Angelus addresses as well as a letter to Franciscans. Since taking his office, several themes have begun to crop up in Pope Leo XIV’s communications, these are present in the quotes used below and are very much in continuity with the teachings of Pope Francis; however, it is heartening to see Pope Leo beginning to develop his own style and his own way of add

The image above has been provided by the Santa Marta Group. “Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” James 5:4 Sunday 8 February is the feast day of Saint Josephine Bakhita, and the international day of prayer and awareness against human trafficking. Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of slavery, survived years of being trafficked into ensla

Dear friends, Can you believe we made it to the end of January? After the busyness of the Advent season, Christmas and end-of-year celebrations, January feels like hitting the brakes and those first couple of weeks are spent almost having to remind yourself of your name, age and job title all over again – whilst also setting new goals and targets for the year ahead. This past month, we spent a lot of time going out and engaging with parishioners in the Diocese. As always, our

All images and text have been taken from the CBCEW’s website. The theme for Racial Justice Sunday is: “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21). Where racial justice is concerned, we must never tire of repeating what has been said before, though we always seek new ways to convey our message. Racial Justice Sunday 2026 is devoted to the promotion of racial justice in our Catholic parishes across England and Wales and society and an encouragement to be consc

The inaugural Catholic Diocese Environment Conference, held last year in Westminster, marked the first inter-diocesan event in England and Wales focused exclusively on environmental issues. The conference planning group has now brought out a new booklet to help showcase what is available for parishes. Last year’s conference was a resounding success, as representatives from nearly every diocese in England and Wales came together to focus on a single issue. Representatives incl

On Monday 12th January, Neil Thorns, CAFOD’s Director of Advocacy and Communications, gave a talk at the monthly SDEN Meeting on the outcomes of COP30. Neil reported on the conference – which was held in Brazil in November – providing his own analysis of what came out of COP30, as well as what was agreed (and what wasn’t). Neil then took us through what issues were raised at the conference, and how CAFOD aims to respond to them with their global partners. Neil particularly hi