Category: Events

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Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday, we visit St Peter’s Square and enter St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. We spend time in prayer at the Altar of the Crucifixion of Saint Peter; at the Chapel of the Sacrament; and at the Tomb of Saint Peter the Apostle underneath the Main Altar (Saint Peter’s Baldachin).

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“All good things have come unto me, since I no longer sought them for myself.” — St John of the Cross

I am delighted to say that today I accepted a role as Head of Religious Education and Chaplaincy Coordinator at St David’s Catholic College. I joined the college as a pastoral tutor four years ago this month, after a religious conversion prompted me to seek out a new career in the service of my local community. I am so grateful for my colleagues, for my students, and for the grace of faith which has brought me this far. I look forward to tomorrow with a renewed sense of excitement and purpose. Deo gratias.


— Solemnity of St John of the Cross, 14 December 2023

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“Mary arose and went with haste” — Luke 7:39

In July and August, I accompanied the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia on a two-week pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. I acted as one of the Team Leaders joining over fifty other pilgrims on the journey, including Archbishop Mark O’Toole and five young pilgrims from St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College in Cardiff.

The first week was spent in the Diocese of Porto, exploring the rich cultural history and life of the Church from our local accommodation in the town of Aguda. Our second week was spent in Fàtima, where we visited key historical sites and welcomed Pope Francis to a public prayer service before the Shrine. The trip culminated in World Youth Day itself, a major event that hosted around 1.5 million pilgrims to a communal all-night vigil and Mass.

The pilgrimage was one of the most personally and professionally satisfying events of my life and career. I moderated a Q&A between pilgrims and the Archbishop where a range of challenging topics were discussed with patience, openness and nuance; and it was a privilege to lead an Examen in a Chapel of Reconciliation in Fátima itself. The places and people we encountered helped to broaden and deepen my understanding of the universal Church; the happy and excited atmosphere of some of the events was like nothing I have experienced before; and it was a joy and a reward to spend time building so many meaningful relationships with my fellow pilgrims. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity, and the many graces it has afforded.

Here are a few images from the trip.

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This Easter my wife and I travelled to Rome. What follows is a simple journal that records some of the things that we did, with a selection of photographs from each day.

Good Friday

After sunset on Good Friday, we attend the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) at the Roman Colosseum, which comprises prayers from fifteen families who have encountered suffering and loss in profound ways. We see Pope Francis seated above the procession, and at the end of the traditional fourteen stations he bestows an Apostolic Blessing on the gathering. An incredibly moving experience.

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Catherine Morley on editing a new collection of essays that explores the legacy of September 11 on modern and contemporary literature

We begin our conversation having marked the fifteenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. What led you to put together this new essay collection?

I have been interested in way in which we have come to narrativise and conceptualise the September 11th terrorist attacks for some time now. They occurred shortly after I moved to the UK to start my doctoral studies. I remember, very vividly, standing before the window of a shop selling televisions and the image of the plane hitting the second tower. It seemed unreal, and indeed at the time many commentators noted that it seemed a moment designed for mass televisual consumption. I thought then that my watching this terrible image unfold across multiple screens seemed like something from a Don DeLillo novel. I remember writing a short diary piece about it at the time, how it reminded me of the Airborne Toxic Event in DeLillo’s White Noise. Since then, I have always been keen to see how novelists, dramatist and poets might approach representing something that seemed to defy representation by its vast scale. So, when offered the opportunity by Bloomsbury to put this volume together I jumped at the chance.

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