Blessed Trinity Catholic Church
Sunday Mass 9.30am
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with them."
Parish Priest: Monsignor Desmond Sexton
Telephone: 01709 363753
Resident Priest: Father Richard Gomersall
Telephone: 01709 546441
Welcome to our new website
Welcome to our new parish website. All comments/suggestions/feedback are welcome, please use the 'contact us' section of the site.
Parish News and Events
Invitation to Mass.
St Bernard's Catholic High School would like to invite you to an early morning family Mass on Wednesday 24th of April at 8.00am.
These Masses have proved very with staff and students from both St Bernard's and our partner primary schools.
Please contact Tammy 01709 828183 for more details.
CAFOD
CAFOD is working with local partners in both Gaza and Israel. They are seeking donations for their work and these can be made at cafod.org.uk/pic or on 03033033030.
Safeguarding.
Our safeguarding contact is Jane Willis. If you have any issues, she can be contacted on 07972074227.
Eucharistic Ministers.
Eucharistic Ministers will go out on the first and third sundays of each month. If any parishoners would be interested in becoming a Eucharistic Minister to take Holy Communion to our housebound parishoners, please speak to Margaret Horan or Father Richard.
WEEKLY COLLECTION
In the new contactless era if you would like to make your weekly offering to the church by bank transfer or standing order, the details are as follows:
Account Number: 01094750
Sort Code: 40-41-07
Account Name: Diocese of Hallam Blessed Trinity Wickersley
Please put your initials and surname as the reference – especially if your offering is gift aided.
Please pray for all our sick and housebound parishoners at home or in hospital and for all who care for them, especially:
Francesca Abassi, Jean Armstrong, Brenda Baker, Carol Bowen, Michael Bradley, Sheila and Norman Bradshaw, Geoffrey Brucknell, Ann Carnegie, Michael Fallon, Kay Fielder, Mary Gill, Alison Green, Catherine Hickey, Roger Luke, Philomena McCann, Winnie McNulty, Peter Morris, Lorraine Newey, Michael O'Malley, Marceline Parker, David Popple, Angela Pritchard, Les Richardson, Darcy Rose, Doris Sharkey, Barrie Shipgood, Josie Smith, Margaret Spark, Rosemary Stone, Les Sutton, Alex Treat, Colin and Sandra Williams, Phillipa Woodley, Carol Woodcock, Christine Young and those who have no-one to pray for them.
Please pray for those who have died recently, and those whose anniversaries occur around this time, including:
John McFadden, Ann Cottam, Margaret Lamb, Maureen Boyle, Terence Wilson, Graham Raggett, Alfred Peet, Margaret Hetherington, Leonard Hall, Joss Rowell, George Gill, Christopher Haigh, John Day, Ann Moor, John Wilson.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine on them. May they rest in peace.
Weekday Mass Times and Intentions
Wednesday 17th April.
Mass, 10.00am.
In thanksgiving for a return from hospital (AC).
Sunday 21st April.
Fourth Sunday of Easter.
Mass, 9.30am.
Margaret McLaughlin RIP (MB).
Wednesday 24th April.
Mass, 10.00am.
Rosemary Browning (CW) Recovering from illness.
Sunday 28th of April.
Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Mass, 9.30am.
Deceased members of the Mannion family (AC).
Fr John Adikwu's Parish in Nigeria
St Francis Quasi Parish in Makurdi, Nigeria.
Since November 2017, Blessed Trinity has been twinned with the current parish of our former priest, Father John Adikwu CM.
The parish of St Francis Quasi is located in Makurdi, which is the capital of Benue state, in the 'Middle Belt' of central Nigeria.
All donations from the wishing well located just inside the church go towards our twin parish. All donations are greatly appreciated.
Chris McClare's Zambian Project.
In July 1993, whilst serving a Pastoral placement for a month at the drop-in centre in Sheffield, I stayed at the Mother of God parish where Father Willie Killgannon was parish priest. A polish priest, Father Kryztof, was staying there for three months to study english before he went on missionary work in Zambia. He invited me to visit Zambia but I declined. Fr. Kryztof was shot in the leg by bandits in 1998 whilst out there. He was sent back to Poland for a year to recover. Before he returned to Zambia again, Fr. Kryztof stopped for a couple of weeks in England. Whilst here, he invited me to go to Zambia again.
This time I could not refuse, as here was a man of God who had been shot, and despite this was going back to Zambia. He went back, not to the Mission where he had been shot (Mpanshya), but to Christ the Redeemer parish in Makeni, a suburb of the capital, Lusaka.
This parish had a sub-parish (a poor relation), called St Anthony of Padua, where I first worked to build a community school attached to the church. This was a two-storey school due to lack of ground owned by the parish. We raised money at Blessed Trinity church in Wickersley and also in a number of other parishes across the Hallam Diocese. Thanks to the generosity of Bishop John, the priests and people, we were eventually able to build the school. Help continued to be provided to Makeni through both Patricia Hope and Eileen Lockwood from Our Lady and St. James church in Worsbrough, Barnsley.
Whilst in Zambia, I met a couple from Birmingham, Sid and Brenda Rowlins, who encouraged me to join VMM, who I was with for six years. I finished up working in Mpanshya parish, building 2 small churches or chapels in the outstation of Mpanshya Mission, around 150 miles East of Lusaka. The parish priest, Father Lecek, then asked if we could build a small community school at another outstation called Mulamba. We again raised money at Blessed Trinity and in neighbouring parishes to build a 2-classroom school with a small office, constructed from bricks made in the community.
In the years since, we have built a number of buildings for the community at Mulamba. In 2007, the Scots Border Youth Group, 40 in number, started and funded the building of a 2 house block for nurses, so that they could stay and work at the medical centre in Mulamba.
To this day, now mainly through the efforts of Blessed Trinity and Rotherham Deanery, we have in Mulamba:
A Roman Catholic church.
A 5 classroomed community school.
A medical centre.
Accommodation for teachers.
7 small houses for nursing staff.
2 water boreholes and tank store with a solar pump (courtesy of the British and Irish embassies).
Basic plumbing with running water to 2 nurses houses and the medical centre.
The community has grown at least three-fold since we began the development there. The community school in 2003 had 95 children, today it has 450. In Lusaka, unemployment is over 70%. Most ordinary people live in compounds where conditions are very poor and unhygienic. Zambia in many parts is a big, fertile land and although there is little to be had in terms of wages in the village, people are able to grow their own food and sell a little of it. Children can grow up in a good rural situation rather than the dire, squalid circumstances of the city.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has in the past, and still are supporting our project in Zambia. Without the people donating and giving money, there would be no Zambian project.
May God bless you all for your generosity.
Yours in Christ,
Christopher McClare
December 2018
A Brief History of Blessed Trinity Parish
The land on which Blessed Trinity stands was purchased by Father Mullan, and it was built as a multipurpose church. Initially, screens separated the altar and the body of the church, which was used as the hall on social and church business occasions, until a purpose-built hall was added during Fr White's time as parish priest.
Priests of the parish
1961 - Father Hannon.
1966 - July 1977 - Father CJ Kelleher. Father O'Shea was temporary priest after Father Kelleher's passing.
1977 - 1984 - Father Gerry White. The church hall was added during Father White's time at Blessed Trinity.
1985 - Monsignor Keegan.
1985 - August 1988 - Father Terrence Clifford.
August 1988 - July 1989 - Holy Ghost Fathers De Leis and Godfrey covered.
1989 - 1996 - Father Shaun Smith. The memorial garden and car park were both built during Father Shaun's time.
1996 - 2002 - Father AG Attree. During this time, Father Michael Killeen also lived in the presbytery and assisted the parish.
2003 - Father Anthony Hayne. Blessed Trinity was twinned with St Mary's Herringthorpe and their priest, Father Hayne became parish priest of Blessed Trinity.