As well as Saturday 23rd June being a beautiful and sunny day for the last day of term at Oscott Seminary, it was the day when eight Oscott seminarians got ordained to the sacred diaconate.

Please pray for them and for all of the seminary community as they journey towards the priesthood. May the Lord make them and all seminarians holy and may he increase the number of those who are willing to accept the call to follow him in this way! To read more about the ordinations, please visit http://oscott.net/diaconal-ordinations-2018/.

Congratulations to Simon Conrad, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate on Saturday 16th June by Bishop Alan Williams at Brentwood Cathedral.  Simon is pictured on the left with his father, Paul, also a deacon. May God bless Simon in his new ministry. For more photos of his ordination, please click here.

Bishop Terence Drainey, Chair of the Management Board of the National Office for Vocation, is pleased to announce that following the election of Abbot Christopher Jamison as Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, the vacancy for the Director of the National Office for Vocation is to be filled by Fr Darren Carden, a priest of the Diocese of Lancaster currently working in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

Congratulations to Fr Robert James, who was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday 2nd June by Archbishop George Stack at Cardiff Cathedral.  He will take up his first post for the Archdiocese of Cardiff as assistant priest within All Saints parish in Newport in the coming months.  Please pray for Fr Robert in his new ministry, and for an increase of vocations to the priesthood.

Their Tonic Wine has gladdened people’s hearts since 1890. During the 20th century their particular strain of bees came to be favoured by beekeepers all over the world. But the Benedictine monks of Buckfast Abbey in Devon can trace their history all the way back to 1018, making this year their millennial anniversary. Please click here to read the article published by Vatican News.