Jubilee Year 2025

Our Jubilee Year is now well underway, and our eight Local sites of Pilgrimage are open and ready for you.

Pick a passport at one up at any church along the way. Visit one or visit them all. Collect your stamp, and on each page, re-affirm the spiritual journey you’ve committed to this Jubilee Year. An indulgence is on offer with prayer, Eucharist and acts of mercy.

We have a very special long weekend planned for you. If the idea of visiting all eight Local sites of Pilgrimage in the Diocese is a little daunting. Mission & Evangelisation has done all the hard work for you. In just a few weeks on Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May, we will journey with you over three days as each Church hosts us for mass, prayer, confession and good old-fashioned hospitality. This will be a chance to get your entire passport complete and meet countless new people along the way.

Check out our Itinerary below and click here to register.

Friday 16 May

Our Lady of the Rosary Church-Taree

• • 9.00am Sacrament of Penance
  • 10.00am Mass, Morning tea hosted by parish to follow.

Saturday 17 May

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Newcastle West

• • 8.30am – Sacrament of Penance
  • 9.15am – Mass – Morning tea hosted by the parish to follow

St Mary’s Star of Sea, Newcastle

• 11.00am – Formation/Prayer

St Brigid’s and St Patrick’s, Cooranbong

• • 1.00pm – Formation/Prayer – BYO lunch Picnic lunch on the grounds – Tea and Coffee hosted by the parish

St John’s the Baptist Shrine, Maitland

• • 3.15pm – Formation/Prayer

St Joseph’s, East Maitland

• • 5.00pm – Mass – Sausage sizzle with tea and coffee hosted by parish to follow

Sunday 18 May

Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Peace Church, Scone

• • 8.30am – Sacrament of Penance
  • 9.00am – Mass – Morning tea hosted by the parish to follow

St Joseph’s, Murrurundi

• • 12:00pm – Mass – BYO Lunch

Our Jubilee Year is now well underway. It started with an incredible Pilgrimage of Hope from Nobby’s Beach to Sacred Heart Cathedral where we celebrated Mass before enjoying a fun festival full of family activities.

Now, we invite you to journey beyond and go on our Pilgrimage through our Diocese! Our eight sites are open and ready for you. Please visit these Churches during the times listed below.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Newcastle West

• • Tuesday 8:15 AM: Mass
  • Wednesday 8:15 AM: Mass
  • Thursday 8:15 AM- Vesper- 1^st Thursday of each month 5.00pm. 3 April, 1 May, 5 June, 3 July, 7 August, 4 September, 2 October, 6 November
  • Friday 11:00 AM: Reconciliation 12:05 PM: Mass
  • Saturday 9:15 AM: Mass (followed by Novena) 5:30 PM: Mass
  • Sunday 9:30 AM: Mass 11:30 AM: Polish Mass 5:00 PM: Mass
  • Monday 8:15 AM: Mass

St Mary Star of the Sea, Newcastle

• • • Sunday 7.30AM: Mass
    • During May- 11am- Noon- Marian Prayer and Reflect

St John the Baptist Shrine, Maitland

• • Wednesday’s 2^nd and 4^th of the month – 9.00AM- 4.00PM

St Joseph’s, East Maitland

• • Tuesday 9.30AM- 10.30AM Private Adoration Mass open from 5:00PM- 7.00PM
  • Wednesday 7:00 AM: Mass
  • Thursday 6.30AM Rosary 7:00 AM: Mass 9.30am – 10.30am Private Adoration
  • Friday 6.30AM Rosary 7:00 AM – 9.00AM Mass and Private Adoration
  • 1st Friday of the Month: 24 hour Private Adoration
  • Saturday 8:00 AM: Mass (includes Reconciliation)
  • Saturday 5:00 PM: Mass
  • 2nd Saturday’s: 8.00AM Mass followed by Marian Holy Hour, Benediction & Reconciliation – 12th April, 10 May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September, 11th October, 8th November, 13th December
  • Sunday 8.30AM & 6.00PM
  • Monday 9.30AM- 10.30AM Private Adoration

St Joseph’s, Murrurundi

• • Saturday 5:00 PM: Mass
  • To visit outside Mass times, contact these parishioners who all live in the same street as the church. (It helps you and them to ring ahead.):

• • • Gerard or Lindy Howard 0409 400 824
    • Karen Kimpton 0432 277 591
    • Gemma Metzker 0414 461 165

Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Peace, Scone

• • The Church is open every day sunrise to sunset when Father Graham is onsite.
  • Tuesday 9:00 AM: Mass
  • Wednesday 10:00 AM (Rosary at 9:45 am)
  • Friday 9:15 AM: Mass during School Term OR 9:00 AM School Holidays.
  • Saturday 9:00 AM: Mass.  Reconciliations 9:30AM to 10:15 AM
  • Sunday 9:00 AM: Mass
  • Sunday 4:00 PM: Exposition, Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Reconciliations 4:00PM to 4:45PM during Exposition
  • Sunday 5:00 PM: Mass

Saints Patrick & Brigid, Cooranbong

• • Saturday 5:00 PM: Mass (2nd, 4th, and 5th Sunday of the month)

Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Taree

• • Tuesday 4.30pm: Reconciliation 5.30pm: Mass
  • Wednesday 9.30am: Mass (2nd ,3rd,4th Wednesday of the month)
  • Friday 9.00am: Adoration 9.30am: Mass
  • Saturday 5.30pm: Mass
  • Sunday 9.30am: Mass

We’re so excited to have a group of people embark on a 18-day pilgrimage tracing the footsteps of St. Paul and other revered saints, visiting pivotal biblical sites across Greece, Turkey, and Italy. From the ancient wonders of Athens and Corinth to the spiritual heights of Meteora and the holy grounds of Ephesus, each location offers a unique opportunity for deep spiritual reflection and connection to our rich Christian story. The pilgrimage culminates in Rome during the Jubilee Year, where pilgrims will experience the grace and blessings of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica, uniting in faith and community. This pilgrimage promises to be a deeply enriching experience, fostering a renewed sense of faith and spiritual growth.

Date: Thursday 25 September – Sunday 12 October.

Applications closed but for more information contact mission@mn.catholic.org.au

Members of the Diocesan community are invited to create an artwork focusing on the theme – “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). Winning entries will travel across the Diocese in a travelling exhibition during the Jubilee Year.

Entry Categories: A. Primary School B. High School C. Adult
Prize for each Category: 1st Prize  – $500, 2nd Prize – $250, 3rd Prize – $100
Key dates:

• Friday 9 May – Registration of artworks Jubilee Art Exhibition
• Saturday 31 May – Exhibition Opening: 2pm-4pm, Veritas Centre, San Clement Catholic College, Mayfield
• Requirements
  Entries limited to 5 per school per category A & B.
• Artworks created on A4 paper (only) leaving a 2cm boarder for framing.
• Any medium suitable for a 2D artwork on paper can be used.
• Artist Statement – maximum 250 words
  Describe how your artwork connects with the theme, ‘Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has
  been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rom 5:1-2.5)’.

For more information, email mission@mn.catholic.org.au

Hope, faith, and a whole lot of fun filled the air in Newcastle on Sunday 2 March as more than 1,000 people gathered to launch the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year.

It started with a Pilgrimage of Hope from Nobbys Beach to Sacred Heart Cathedral, where Bishop Michael Kennedy and people from across the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle walked in unison, celebrating everything they receive from God and offer the world.

After the pilgrimage, the Cathedral was overflowing for an inspiring and reflective Mass before everyone enjoyed a festival of family activities, free food, and connection.

Read more about it here.

At this event, people also picked up a Pilgrim’s Passport to visit our sites of pilgrimage. To learn more about the Passport and how to obtain a Jubilee Indulgence, click here. 

At the start of March, the Diocese hosted an exhibition about Blessed Carlo Acutis, a young Italian boy who will be canonised a Saint during the Jubilee Year after living a life incredibly close to Jesus.

From 27 April 2025, he will be known as Patron Saint of the Internet because of his unique approach to spirituality in the digital age. His ability to blend his deep faith with a passion for technology was remarkable.

Carlo created a website to document Eucharistic miracles and share his beliefs with the world. He was a devout Catholic and is credited as having a hand in two healing miracles after his death — the requisite number for all Catholic saints.