On Saturday 13th September 2025, the Catholic Parishes of St Albans joined together for this special celebration as Pilgrims of Hope for the Jubilee Year 2025.

We came together with our brothers and sisters of the Catholic Parishes of WGC for a special mass leading into exposition with an opportunity for confession, then benediction. We had lunch in the Parish Centre with entertainment laid on by visiting Spanish priests! Our pilgrimage finished with a visit around the church reflecting on being Pilgrims of Hope after a Solemn Blessing from Canon Norbert Fernandes.

17 September 2025

Over the last months I have asked for your feedback on the current Mass Schedule and your thoughts about the pairing of St Alban & St Stephen and St Bartholomew’s. Thank you to everyone who has written in or taken the time to speak to a member of the Parish Team. My sense, from what has been shared, is that the pairing of the parishes has begun well, that there is a genuine willingness to work together, and a pragmatic acceptance of the realities that a good many parishes are having to engage with.

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your generous response to the pairing of our parishes. I would also like to thank you for your words of appreciation for all that is taking place in both parishes, and for bearing with both the revised Summer Schedule and the changes in venue necessitated by the preparation for building works at St Alban & St Stephen.

The one key theme that has come across time and again in the feedback we have received is that our Mass Schedule needs to be manageable for the clergy now serving two parishes. Reflecting on this it has struck me that there are two mass cycles in every parish. A Sunday cycle of masses and a weekday cycle of masses. Of the two, it seems to me that the first of these, the Sunday cycle of masses, must take priority, and that in order to create space and lighten the load on the parish clergy it makes more sense, at this stage, to reconfigure the weekday schedule. This being so, and mindful that it is not unusual for priests in our diocese to celebrate three Sunday masses on Sunday itself, I am proposing to:

1. a) retain the existing schedule of Sunday Masses for 11 months of the year
2. b) adopt a revised ‘Summer Mass Schedule’ for the month of August, and
3. c) introduce the following schedule of Weekday Masses from Monday 1 December 2025:

 Monday         10am   (St Alban & St Stephen)             12 Noon (St Bartholomew’s)

Tuesday          10am   (St Alban & St Stephen)             No Evening Mass

Wednesday     10am   (St Bartholomew’s)                    7pm (St Alban & St Stephen)

Thursday         10am   (St Alban & St Stephen)             No Evening Mass

Friday               No Morning Mass                                  7pm (St Alban & St Stephen)

Saturday           No Morning Mass

In effect St Alban & St Stephen will lose two of its weekday masses (Monday evening and Saturday morning) and St Bartholomew’s will lose one of its weekday masses. If you have booked a mass intention for one of the weekday masses affected by these changes our parish administrators will be in touch with you to confirm a new date and time. Exposition, Confessions and Benediction will take place at St Bartholomew’s on a Wednesday morning, beginning at 10.30am, and at St Alban & St Stephen on a Saturday morning, beginning at a new earlier time of 10am.

I am conscious that these last months have seen quite a lot of change to the routines in both parishes, and with the building works at St Alban and Stephen (now with a confirmed start date of 6 October) a sense of unsettledness will remain. Please, if you have any questions, especially regarding the proposed changes to the weekday schedule, come back to me.

Fr Michael O’Boy

14 September 2025

 If you are a parent, guardian or carer who needs a Certificate of Catholic Practice to accompany your child’s application for a primary, secondary or nursery school place, please could you email the parish office on stalbans@rcdow.org.uk with your child’s name, date of birth and home address together with a contact telephone phone number for yourself. It would also be appreciated if you could indicate which school(s) you are applying for as not all catholic schools require the Certificate of Catholic Practice. Fr Michael will then arrange an appointment for you to meet with him.

14 September 2025

2025 marks the 60th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s ground-breaking document on interreligious dialogue. To mark this anniversary, Westminster Interfaith are organising a series of events in the Diocese of Westminster, entitled A Journey into Hope:

• Discovering Nostra Aetate – Tuesdays in October from 6-7.30pm at Vaughan House, SW1P 1QN

Fr Michael Barnes SJ will be giving a 4-week course exploring the origins of Nostra Aetate, surveying its successes and raising the question: if Nostra Aetate was being written today, what would it look like? The course is suitable for all those with an interest in exploring the origins of the Catholic Church’s approach to interreligious dialogue.

• Celebrating Nostra Aetate – Tuesday 28 October from 7-9pm at Farm Street Church, W1K 3AH

Join us for an evening to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate. People of faith from religions across the Diocese will gather to share their messages of hope in this Jubilee Year. You are warmly invited to join us for what will be a joyous celebration, followed by a reception.

To book your free ticket, please use this link or, for more information, contact westminsterinterfaith@rcdow.org.uk.

5 September 2025

On Sunday 10th August 2025 at 3 pm about 40 members of local churches met at the St Albans Peace Obelisk in the grounds of St Albans Cathedral, to remember the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to pray for nuclear disarmament. This is an annual event which is held on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the dropping of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs on the 6th and 9th of August; the 6th August is also the Feast of the Transfiguration..

The prayer service was held at St Albans Peace Obelisk which was a gift given to the Cathedral by the people of Japan in 1982 in recognition of the stance taken by Dean Thicknesse who had refused to allow the ringing of the cathedral bells to celebrate the end of the War in Japan and the East, in recognition of the terrible suffering which had been caused by the bombs.

A pupil at Loreto College produced, with the support of Catherine Stack, the school librarian, dozens of beautiful origami cranes, which were distributed at the event and were also displayed in the church with a series of prayers for peace, which were hung by the Stations of the Cross and which will remain on display until the end of Season of Creation.

You can read more here.

29 August 2025

The itinerary for our Jubilee Pilgrimage has now been finalised and detailed timings are as follows: 

• 9.30 am Coach arrives at St Alban & St Stephen
• 9.45 am Coach departs from St Alban & St Stephen
• 9.55 am Coach arrives at St Bartholomew’s
• 10am Coach departs from St Bartholomew’s
• Decade of the Rosary (Recited on way to Welwyn)
• 10.40 am Arrival at Our Lady Queen of Apostles
• 11.00 am Mass
• 11.45 am Exposition with an opportunity for Confession
• 12.15 pm Benediction
• 12.30 pm Lunch (Tea & Coffee provided. Please bring your own packed lunch)
• 1.30 pm Visit around the Church with Canon Norbert Fernandes
• 2.10pm Solemn Jubilee Blessing & Farewell
• 2.15pm Coach departs from Our lady Queen of Apostles

 If you would like to be part of this joint parishes pilgrimage, please complete the online form by 5 September using the this link. Please fill in the form whether you are travelling on the coach or making your own way to Welwyn. There is no cost for the day, but donations towards the cost of the coach and other aspects of the day are very welcome. Please see the registration form for details of how to make a donation.  If you are not able to complete the form online, there are hard copies available at the back of the church. Please complete one and return it to the parish office by 5 September.

29 August 2025

The parish knit and natter group has been busy knitting baby jumpers for the babies and toddlers in the Bonda Orphanage in Africa. To date they have knitted 50 toddler size and 50 baby size and these will be taken to the orphanage in September by the missionary son of Maggie Moore, a parishioner at St Barts parish. This is an amazing achievement by the group and their jumpers look wonderful!

22 August 2025

A big  “thank  you”  for  an  amazing  gift of  over £1,000  from  our  Confirmation  candidates  to  children  in  Nepal  via  the  charity  Hands  Together  Tiplyang  project. With  the  encouragement   of  Joan  Egenes,  our  parish  catechist,  and Fr John, our  young  people  have  kindly  washed  cars  and  baked and  sold  cakes  to  raise  funds  to  provide  food,  toiletries and school  equipment  for  the  children  of  Tiplyang  high  up  in  the  Himalayan  mountains. The  children  and  their  families  are  deeply  appreciative  of  the  help  given  them  and  they  delight  in  their  school. many  thanks  to  parishioners  for your  very generous support of this far-reaching  project. FiF Youth are also  very grateful for the incredible support from the parish for their fund raising efforts. Thankyou!

18 July 2025

The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation posts a quarterly calendar of forthcoming events in the Diocese, town and parish. It can be found on the website at Groups/Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. Inevitably it is always incomplete. Please let the group know of any forthcoming events which may be of interest by emailing marytharber@gmail.com heading your email JPIC Calendar.

2 June 2025

A Requiem Mass for Pope Francis will be held at 12 Noon on Wednesday 23rd April at St Bartholomew’s Church, Vesta Avenue, St Albans AL1 2PE . 

21st April 2025

Each Easter we commemorate our deceased loved ones in a special way in our Easter Garden by writing their names on bamboo butterfly shapes and planting them around the rose garden in front of the presbytery. These will be close to the three empty crosses, a symbol of the new life Christ won for us in his resurrection. Please follow this link for a list of those names in our Easter Garden this year. 

19th April 2025

Thank you to all those who came for tea and coffee after mass on Monday and assisted Fr Michael and Fr John with the folding of leaflets for our forthcoming Easter Services. Your help was much appreciated!

17th April 2025

Louise Mahon, Head of Health and Safety for the Diocese, will be talking to parishioners from St Alban & St Stephen and St Bartholomew about food safety. This training will be particularly useful for those volunteers who help to organise or support parish events where food is prepared or served. It will be held in our parish centre. All welcome but it would be useful to have some idea of numbers so please email the parish office if you might be interested in attending.

4th April 2025

Once again we have been able to extend the YCBS scheme to Easter; we are delighted that we had enough funds left over from Christmas to be able to do this. A small voucher for an Easter Egg will be delivered to all the children involved in the scheme. Thank you once again for everything you do to make the scheme such a success. We will look forward to launching YCBS 2025 later in the year. The YCBS Team.

4th April 2025

 All expectant mothers and those whose babies have recently arrived (less than a year) are invited for a special blessing on Mothers’ Day, Sunday 30 March at the 10am Mass.

You and your partners are also then warmly invited to tea/coffee after Mass and a brief chat on the Sacrament of Baptism – what it is and what to think about ahead of time.

18 March 2025

The Catenian Association is an international Catholic organisation established over 100 years fostering the values of faith, family and friendship and it is hoped that men from our parish will consider joining the Catenians and encourage each other in our shared faith and charitable works and activities.

The local group meets every month at Harpenden Golf Club at 7pm for an informal meeting and supper. Please consider joining them and you will be assured of a warm welcome.

More information available on our website or simon-davies9@sky.com or George.jarzab@gmail.com.

18 March 2025

‘Gregorian chant holds pride of place, as it is proper to the Roman Liturgy’ – so said the documents of Vatican II.

The cantors have been singing the chant in its old and newer forms for several years now at the 11.30/12 noon Mass on Sundays. Several parishioners have enquired about joining a chant schola, and the cantors would now like to see if we can form a group – as is proper – as a bridge to full congregational participation in the chant.

Experimental sessions of 45 minutes will be held in the choir loft at 7.30pm on Tuesday 1 and Thursday 3 April. No experience is required beyond the ability to hold a tune together with others, and full tuition will be offered in effective voice production,  musicianship and the history and conventions of the chant.

If you are interested but can’t attend either preliminary session, please contact Jeremy White spodehouse@hotmail.com or text him on 07999 957665.

18 March 2025

the Parish Friends Group would like to thank all those who helped to make the Patrick’s Day Tea Party such a success. Over 80 people attended and £350 was collected for Cafod. Heartfelt thanks go to Peter and Damian who gave us great entertainment all afternoon. Thank you also to the cake makers. What a great selection we had. A wonderful afternoon all round.

18 March 2025

We are commemorating our deceased loved ones in a special way in our Easter Garden again this year by writing their names on bamboo butterfly shapes and planting them around the rose garden in front of the presbytery. These will be close to the three empty crosses, a symbol of the new life Christ won for us in his resurrection.

If you would like to remember deceased family or friends in this way, please send us their names clearly marked ‘Easter Garden’ either by posting the details through the presbytery door or by emailing the parish office stalbans@rcdow.org.uk

2 March 2025

The parish administrators here and at St Bartholomew’s have spent much of the past couple of weeks completing the annual financial returns required by the Diocese. Although we cannot release specific figures until the diocesan accounts are approved by the auditors, it is clear that we will have ended last year with a reasonable surplus. In the main that surplus has been generated by a) a cautious approach to capital expenditure, b) a combination of high interest rates and growth in our Building Fund and c) the receipt of a legacy during the year. With further falls in the interest rate almost certain and a reduction in our bank balance resulting from the commencement of building works in the spring, together with the resultant impact on parish centre lettings income, our operational surplus in 2025 will be significantly affected. This means that we have to think more carefully about everyday spending and maximise income where we can.

First then, I would like to thank you for your ongoing generosity; for your giving to our ordinary operational costs by way of the Sunday Offertory and for your donations to and pledges of support for the Parish Building Fund. To date £207,800 has been received and a further £240,500 is expected, making a total of £448,300 over the five years of the Building Fund Appeal (including £70,100 of gift aid tax reclaimed). Secondly, this is not an appeal for people to give more, it really isn’t. However, I would ask those of you who are UK tax payers to please consider gift aiding what you give and to give by standing order, if you do not already do so. Gift aiding is a straightforward way of maximising what you give without giving any more than you already do.

When UK tax payers gift aid their charitable donations, the charity can claim back the basic-rate tax from HM Revenue & Customs on their donations. In effect, gift aiding what you give will increase the value of what you give to the parish by 25p in every pound or 25%. (The only thing the tax payer needs to do is to ensure that the money the Government gives to a charity or charities, as a result of a tax payer’s gift aiding, does not exceed the amount of tax they have paid in the relevant tax year.)

So, if you are a UK tax payer who gives on a regular basis (perhaps you already do by standing order) but have not signed a gift aid declaration enabling us to reclaim a proportion of the tax you have already paid, please contact Angela, our Parish Administrator, at stalbans@rcdow.org.uk saying you would like to gift aid your giving and asking for the relevant Offertory or Building Fund standing order and/or gift aid form.

9th February 2025

On Saturday 17 May at 2.30pm the Cardinal will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for couples celebrating their 5th, 10th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, and 60th (and any year over 60) anniversary of Catholic marriage. If you would like to attend please inform the Parish Office by Thursday 3 April and include husband and wife’s names, wedding date, number of years married, postal address, email (or phone number, if no email).

2nd February 2025

Our Lenten talk schedule is something you are not going to want to miss.  Dr Pia Matthews will be speaking : 7.30pm to 9pm as follows:

Friday 7 March 2025 – Assisted Suicide

Friday 21 March 2025 – A Just War?

Friday 28 March 2025 – Conscience in a Modern World

Dr Pia Matthews is a senior lecturer at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and a lecturer at Allen Hall, our Diocesan Seminary, in Chelsea.  She gained a BA/MA in Law from Cambridge University, a BTh (Theology) from St John’s Seminary and Surrey University, and an MA in Bioethics from St Mary’s. She currently teaches on the MA Bioethics and Medical Law programme, and on the FD Healthcare Practitioners Ethics, Theology and Care at St Mary’s; and in marriage and family life at Allen Hall. In 2015, she was appointed an expert to the XIV Ordinary General Assembly Synod of Bishops by Pope Francis.

2nd February 2025

Please follow this link to read a copy of the letter from Fr Michael that has been sent out this week with the bulletin. It relates to the revised schedule of masses for both parishes following their recent pairing.

20th December 2024

In recent years the ‘pairing’ of some neighbouring parishes in the Diocese of Westminster has been both necessary and advantageous. Necessary because of changing demographics and new realities concerning the numbers and the composition of local communities in London and Hertfordshire, the need to rationalise resources and the declining number of men offering themselves for priesthood in the Diocese, with more lay men and women becoming more actively involved in the life and work of the Church in parishes and more widely, supporting the clergy and fellow parishioners. There is scope to increase such involvement. Advantageous because of the beneficial sharing of resources, human and material, and because the sustainability and viability of parishes are more secure going forward. Across the Diocese there are some twenty such ‘pairings’, involving forty-plus parishes. Pairings are in all four pastoral areas of the Diocese. ‘Paired’ parishes have one Parish Priest serving both parishes and churches. Some also have an Assistant Priest if the size of the parishes and the presence of a school or hospital, etc. make this possible, taking into account the availability of priests. Some also have the benefit of the ministry of a permanent deacon, usually a parishioner of one of the parishes, trained and ordained for this ministry.

From 1 January 2025 the parishes of St Alban and St Stephen, St Albans and St Bartholomew, St Albans South will be ‘paired’, with Fr Michael O’Boy as Parish Priest of both parishes and continuing to reside at St Alban & St Stephen. Inevitably there will need to be some adjustments to the present schedule of Masses in both parishes. Both parishes will continue to have a Finance Committee to assist and advise the Parish Priest. Both parishes will continue to have their distinctive identities while being open to parishioners of, and visitors to, both parishes. Parish boundaries will be maintained while being more porous than rigid. ‘Less walls, more bridges’ is the way forward for parishes. Please do give the support Fr Michael will need as he takes on additional responsibilities assisted by Fr John Casey. He has responded generously to what has been asked of him and he will rely on the prayers and goodwill of the communities of St Albans and St Albans South.

St Alban, St Stephen, St John Fisher and St Bartholomew, pray for us.

 Fr Michael writes… As Mgr. Hayes says the pairing of parishes is not new to the Diocese or indeed the Deanery to which we belong. Moreover, there is a sense in which the pairing of St Alban and St Stephen with St Bartholomew’s is a natural one, grouping together the Catholic parishes of the City of St Albans. Even so, I am conscious that the pairing of parishes may feel like a loss – calling on each parish to share its parish clergy. Undoubtedly, the pairing will involve a division of time and labour, but I hope and believe that this pairing of St Alban and St Stephen with St Bartholomew’s will open up a new and exciting chapter for the Catholic community here in St Albans. Where there is need, opportunity or advantage in our working closely with St Bartholomew’s it will make collaboration, and therefore the best use of all the resources at our disposal, much easier. It will also enable the common witness of the Catholic community here in St Albans.

This coming Monday evening I will be meeting with our Parish Pastoral Council to reflect on what this pairing will mean for us here at St Alban and St Stephen and in the first instance, as it is the most pressing practical question, what the pairing of parishes might mean for the Sunday and weekday Mass schedule at St Alban & St Stephen. I hope to do the same with St Bartholomew’s Parish Council in the very near future. In the coming weeks and months there will be much to consider, but as that process begins, I want to reassure you that I am committed to maintaining the Catholic presence across St Albans – in St Bartholomew’s, Marshalswick and the City Centre – and to delivering the plans that have been made, and are in the making, for the refurbishment of the parish complex here on Beaconsfield Road. Please pray for our parish, for the whole Parish Team, the parishioners of St Barts as well as for myself and Fr John, and Fr Francis as he moves on to new pastures, as we, the Catholic Parishes of St Albans, look to renew our mission.

1 December 2024

The theme of the Jubilee Year 2025, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is uniquely captured in the prayers, readings, and options of the Mass for the Holy Year. They stress the themes of pilgrimage. More information about the Jubilee Year and prayers can be downloaded from Prayers for The Jubilee 2025 – Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The faithful, united under Christ’s banner, always have hope. The expectation that the Lord will come in the present, and the end of the ages, inspires them to make a pilgrimage to God, and their neighbour.

22 November 2024

We have received an email from the Diocese this week highlighting a concerning rise in scam emails targeting parishioners in the Diocese. These emails impersonate the parish priest, often using a similar email name and masking the real email address. They typically request the recipient to purchase Amazon or other gift cards as gifts for the priest. Unfortunately, we have received reports of people falling victim to these scams, with some individuals losing up to £600 to the fraudsters.

To avoid this happening to you, please:

• Never purchase gift cards as gifts for the parish priest, based on an email request, unless you have verified the request directly in person or through a trusted means.
• Double-check any suspicious email by directly contacting the parish office.
• Avoid sharing personal or financial information in response to unsolicited emails.

If you encounter these emails, please report them as spam and inform the parish office immediately.

19 November 2024