Welcome

 

Situated in Andover in the county of Hampshire, UK, the parish is in the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. With other parishes in Basingstoke,Tadley and Hook, it forms the North West Hampshire Pastoral Area.

 

Charity Number: 246871

 

MASSES:

Andover: Saturday 6.00pm Mass 

Whitchurch: Sunday Mass at 9.00am

Andover: Sunday Mass at 10.30am

 Sunday Mass at Farleigh School is at 10.00am 

 

Mass in Andover at 10.00am on a  Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

Mass in Whitchurch  at 10.00am on a Thursday

Exposition will be held from 9.40am - before Mass - on the first Friday of each month.

   

The benches on the left hand side of the Church are reserved for those individuals and couples who would like to

remaining socially distanced - each bench is divided into three for that purpose. All another seating areas are free from restrictions,

but if you are sharing a bench, please use common sense and leave a metre gap between

yourself and your neighbour. Parishioners will not be allowed to stand in the porch for Mass. 

 

All these changes are. of course, subject to the consideration of the prevailing local conditions for the virus and any new government / local authority legislation.

  

If you are unwell in any way, please do not come to Mass.

 

 

An invitation from the Bishops of England and Wales: Sunday Mass Obligation Reinstated.

‘This is the bread come down from heaven’ (John 6:58)

              A beautiful hallmark of the Catholic faith is the profound desire to participate in the Holy Mass and share in the

Eucharist. We do so with deep gratitude and joy. The Eucharist gives the Church her identity – “The Eucharist makes the Church, and the Church makes the Eucharist.” It enables us to worship Almighty God, to support each other on our

journey of faith, and to be a visible sign of faith in the world. This hallmark is supported and strengthened by the precept that our fundamental Christian duty is to worship God by participating in the celebration of Mass. Attending Mass on

Sundays and Holy Days is the greatest of all privileges, sometimes referred to as “the Sunday Obligation.”

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, until the present time, we have shared with you our judgment that the situation of the last two years has meant that the Sunday Obligation has been impeded and has needed to be fulfilled in other ways. We thank God that this situation has now changed. The pressing challenges of the pandemic have lessened significantly. Most people have resumed the wide range of normal activities, no longer restricted by the previous Covid measures. We therefore believe that the reasons which have prevented Catholics from attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation no longer apply.

We understand there will still be some members of our congregations who, for reasons of health, do not feel safe enough to return to Mass. It has always been the understanding of the Church that when the freedom of any Catholic to attend Mass in person is impeded for a serious reason, because of situations such as ill health, care for the sick or

legitimate fear, this is not a breach of the Sunday Obligation.

Our Catholic people and parishes have benefitted during these difficult times from the online streaming of Mass and other services. “Virtual viewing” of Mass online does not fulfil the Sunday Obligation. It may, however, be a source of

continual spiritual comfort to those who cannot attend Mass in person, for example those who are elderly and sick, for whom the obligation does not apply. In this context, we recognise gratefully the ministry of those who administer Holy Communion to the elderly, sick and housebound.

We are grateful to our clergy, religious and lay faithful who have served our parishes, schools and communities with dedication and distinction throughout this pandemic. Now we look forward with renewed faith and confidence. In the

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus entrusted to us the precious gift of Himself. With humility, we glory in being a Eucharistic people for whom attendance at Mass is essential.

Looking forward to the forthcoming Feast of Pentecost (Sunday 5th June), we now invite all Catholics who have not yet done so to return to attending Mass in person.

As the Church needs the witness of the presence of each person, so too each believer needs to journey in faith and worship with their fellow disciples. Nourished by our encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus, fed with His Word and His Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and supported by the presence of each other, we receive strength week by week, to serve the Lord and glorify Him with our lives.

 

 

Approved by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference
Friday 6th May 2022