When Sister Anne Gardiner arrived on the Tiwi Islands, she met the women who, as young girls, had been brought out of the bush nearly 40 years earlier to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart's then new convent.

The convent is still there. So too is Sister Anne, 85, who arrived on Bathurst Island in 1953 and has seen the community changed almost beyond recognition.

In an historic moment for the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea, Pope Francis has named the Archbishop of Port Moresby as the nation's first locally-born cardinal and the first cardinal from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

The Most Reverend Archbishop John Ribat MSC was one of 17 new cardinals named by Pope Francis this month, which also included archbishops from Bangladesh, the Central African Republic and Mauritius.

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which the Church is celebrating, casts a distinct light on World Mission Sunday 2016: it invites us to consider the missio ad gentes as a great, immense work of mercy, both spiritual and material. On this World Mission Sunday, all of us are invited to "go out" as missionary disciples, each generously offering their talents, creativity, wisdom and experience in order to bring the message of God’s tenderness and compassion to the entire human family. By virtue of the missionary mandate, the Church cares for those who do not know the Gospel, because she wants everyone to be saved and to experience the Lord’s love. She “is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel” (Misericordiae Vultus, 12) and to proclaim mercy in every corner of the world, reaching every person, young or old.

On October 6, Christian and Muslim children of Aleppo, Syria will gather together to pray for an end to the violence and devastation upon their city and country. They are also planning on drawing pictures about their lives to send to Pope Francis, to the United Nations and to two of the most important players in determining the outcome of the war, the United States and Russia.

You can use any of the following prayers or click on the links for more information.

On Friday 26th August, Wadeye’s new T-House was officially opened. Pirrimngiparl Boniface Perdjert, a senior elder of the Kardu Thuthay Diminirn clan welcomed everyone. Pat Dodson was here for the opening and he spoke of Sr Fred’s work many years ago with the women when they had very few amenities.

On September 5th we celebrate International Charities Day. This day remembers charities around the world who work tirelessly to alleviate poverty and human suffering.

It is fitting on this day that we remember and pray for all those benefactors who give so generously to OLSH Overseas Aid.

Pope Francis recently declared September 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, as the Orthodox Church has done since 1989.  pdf I have attached a prayer for us, the caretakers of God’s creation (70 KB) , that you might like pray in community.

… It was God, who decided that we were fit to be entrusted with the Good News,
and when we are speaking, we are not trying to please people
but God who can read our inmost thoughts. …
Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children,
we felt so devoted and protective towards you
and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you
not only the Good News but our whole lives as well. (1 Thess 2, 4, 7-8)

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home in you.
Teach each other and advise each other in all wisdom.
With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;
and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3: 12-17)

The 30th July was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

According to the UN at least 2.5 million people are trapped in modern- day slavery  Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking.