Last Sunday the Bishops requested a special collection in all parishes in Scotland, England and Wales for the Papal Visit. There are still envelopes available at the back of church if you were unable to contribute last week and would like to do so. Prayer cards for the Visit are also available, please collect one today. The collections are to assist in meeting the costs of the Visit payable by the Church, which are currently estimated to be at least £7m. Over £3m has already been raised towards this total. Bishop Crispian suggests that £2 per Massgoer would be enough to raise our diocese’s contribution.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said: “I would urge everyone in the Catholic community to pray for this Visit and to support the collection for it as generously as they can. The Holy Father’s Visit is a wonderful opportunity for the gentle light of faith to be contemplated afresh by everyone. He will confirm the strong faith of our own community. But my prayer, too, is thatthe Visit will serve to kindle a new spiritual vitality, a questioning of the heart for many in our society who may have no religious affiliation but who are in some way seeking a deeper meaning and purpose to their lives.“
The costs associated with the state aspects of the Visit will be paid by the government. The costs payable by the church consist mainly in the organising costs of three major public pastoral gatherings – in Scotland, London and the West Midlands.