Brief dispatches from public lectures, open days, field trips, and cultural gatherings.
On this day in 2017 I had a conversion experience that changed my life. I was listening to a consultant during a routine cardiology appointment when suddenly everything came into the sharpest focus. In one powerful, convicting moment, I knew I was no longer an atheist. I was a Christian.
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On Saturday, I took a train to London to attend Summit 2026 at St Patrick’s church in Soho. Centred around the theme of Freedom of Heart: Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life, the day offered a rich lineup of talks, reflections, and Q&As across topics like hope, inner freedom, and applying spiritual principles to active life in the world.
The plenary speakers began the day with two morning presentations. We heard from Bishop Erik Varden—who recently delivered the Lenten Spiritual Exercises for Pope Leo XIV in Rome—and Fr Jacques Philippe, a cheerful, popular author of books on prayer who draws deeply from the Carmelite tradition. Among the afternoon sessions were talks by two sharp and energetic Dominican nuns, Sr Carino Hodder and Sr Lucy Cahill, whose candid approach to the Rule of St Augustine was entertaining and inspiring. Archbishop Richard Moth was also in attendance for part of the day.
(more…)Today the Vatican has published Magnifica Humanitas, the first Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIV.
It has been released on the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, which was a rallying call to safeguard human dignity at the height of Industrial Revolution.
The new document calls for a careful and prudent approach to our current digital revolution in order to “safeguard the human person in the time of artificial intelligence”:
Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history.
— Magnifica Humanitas, 233
Divine Mercy Sunday. We travel to Chapter Arts Centre to see Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie (2001), which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year. It was an important film for both of us when we were younger. Audrey Tautou’s iconic performance of the heroic and vulnerable Amélie is still a pleasure to watch, while Jeunet’s kinetic energy and rich colour palette remains the vision of Paris for every tourist. Moving, joyful, and exuberant.
This July, Jenn and I journeyed to Rome as part of a Jubilee Year pilgrimage with a group of colleagues from St David’s Catholic College.
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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).
“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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