
Welcome to the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Mary of the Angels. We are a friendly community serving Bayswater and part of Notting Hill, including Westbourne Grove and Portobello Road.
Weekend Masses are at 6pm on Saturday, and at 11am and 6pm on Sunday. There is also a Portuguese Mass at 9am on Sundays and a Brazilian Mass at 4.30pm on Saturdays.
Weekdays, including Saturday: Mass is at 12 noon, but see below for any alterations.
Confessions are heard before any Mass and on request
Our Church is open 8am – 6.30pm every day, with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for most of that time
Our postal address is The Parish House, Moorhouse Road W2 5DJ: see below for parish office opening hours.
You can contact us on 020 7229 0487 or bayswater@rcdow.org.uk
We also have a Permanent Deacon, Rev. Sam Mulira, who can be contacted on sammulira@rcdow.org.uk
Thank you for your generosity in responding to the appeal last weekend on behalf of Let the Children Live, which works with street children and shanty-town dwellers in Colombia. We will announce the total raised next weekend. Meanwhile you can continue to support them at: https://letthechildrenlive.org/
Congratulations to Freda Allajbeu and her children who are being baptised this Sunday.
We are going to begin blessing married couples in the month of the anniversary of their marriage. This Sunday we will bless all those married in January and February.
On Tuesday, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick, we will have our monthly Medjugorje Healing Ministry during and after the 12 noon Mass. All are welcome to come and pray for physical, emotional and spiritual healing with laying on of hands and anointing. This has been transferred this month only from last Saturday because of an event in Westminster Cathedral that day.
The next Churches Together in Notting Hill Prayer Lunch will be held in our Church at 12.30pm this Wednesday, 12 Feb. After a prayer service there is a shared lunch in the Newman Room: all welcome.
On Wednesday we have an extra Mass at 6pm followed by our monthly devotions to St. Joseph.
This Friday our 12 noon Mass will be the funeral of James O’Brien. His body will be received into the Church on Thursday evening at 6.30pm.
During this Jubilee Year we plan to have two parish pilgrimages: one to Tyburn (walking) on Sat. March 22, and one to Walsingham by coach on Sat. Oct. 4th. Please make a note of the October date in your calendars, and let us know soon if you would like to come to Tyburn on March 22. Tyburn Convent is on the Bayswater Road, just this side of Marble Arch, where the gallows at Tyburn Tree was used to hang many of our Catholic martyrs during the Reformation period. It is an easy 40 minute walk each way, but those unable to walk can take public transport or a taxi. The convent houses a vibrant international community of Benedictine nuns who have perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and is a major place of pilgrimage in London. We plan to leave St. Mary of the Angels at 11am and be back by 3.30pm. The pilgrimage will include Mass in the crypt of the convent, Anointing of the Sick and Rosary, and a tour of the convent led by one of the nuns with an explanation of the great significance of this place for Catholics, especially in the Jubilee Year. Bring a packed lunch which we will enjoy after Mass with tea. Please sign up on the sheet at the back of Church or contact the parish office to let us know you are coming.
On Saturday 8th March, from 3pm – 5pm in Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1QW, to celebrate the Jubilee of Volunteering, Caritas Westminster are inviting you to a Volunteering Fair. To find out more please visit https://caritaswestminster.org.uk/event/jubilee-volunteering-fair/ or email cvs@rcdow.org.uk and see the poster in the Church porch. Make Jubilee 2025 a rewarding year through volunteering!Saturday Feb. 1st is the First Saturday of the month, so we will have our usual Rosary meditations after the Mass, led by Fr. Keith. It is also the Feast of St. Brigid, one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is being marked in several countries by Eucharistic Processions to pray for a renewal of the faith in Ireland, from where many missionaries were sent out around the world in years past. We do not have time for a procession, as Fr. Keith is giving a Sermon on Our Lady for the Day with Mary at Harrow Road Church at 2pm (all welcome), but instead we will have Eucharistic adoration during the Rosary for this intention.
If you know of any elderly or housebound people who would appreciate being offered the sacraments at home, please speak to Fr. Keith or contact the parish office
We are delighted to see more and more young families coming to Mass each week, and are planning to offer a variety of resources for parents to help their young children make a lasting friendship with Jesus centred on the Mass. These will include canvas Mass bags with the Church logo containing items such as rosary teethers, holding crosses and missals for very young children. Please email the parish office or speak to Fr. Keith or Caterina if you would like to know more.
Anthony Knight, a student at the Royal College of Music who lives in our parish house, is offering violin lessons for all ages: contact him on 07761 061531.
Bishop James Curry will be coming next June to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with our young people. We will be beginning our programme of preparation in January, and the first step is for those who would like to be confirmed to make an appointment to see Fr. Keith and our catechist, Caterina, with one of your parents. Please speak to him after Mass or email keithbarltrop@rcdow.org.uk The first preparation session is on Thursday 9 Jan. at 6pm in the Newman Room.
Are you interested in becoming a Catholic or do you know someone who is? Did you miss out on the Sacrament of Confirmation as a teenager and would like to be confirmed now? We have a group especially for such people and would also like to invite parishioners to join it so they can help welcome new members. Please speak to Fr. Keith or send him a message.
We have received many appreciative comments about our Welcoming Ministry, and now we need more volunteers for this. Please email or speak to Grace, Caterina or Fr. Keith if you would be able to help us with this valuable work, even if you can’t do it every week: let us know which Mass you normally attend and we will arrange some simple training.
As many of you will be aware, next year has been designated by Pope Francis as a Year of Jubilee: these years are celebrated every 25 years and are an important opportunity for the whole Church and each of us individually to experience the renewal the Holy Spirit brings. Pope Francis has chosen the theme Pilgrims of Hope, and has directed our attention to several areas where hope is needed today: the situation after COVID; working for peace; the environment; welcoming the poor and refugees; Christian Unity – all of them grounded on a spiritual renewal. You can find information about the Jubilee Year at: https://rcdow.org.uk/jubilee-2025/ https://www.cbcew.org.uk/jubilee-2025/ https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025.html
There has been a rise in scam emails targeting parishioners by impersonating the parish priest, often using a similar email name and masking the real email address. They typically request the recipient to purchase Amazon or other gift cards as gifts for the priest. Some have lost up to £600 to these fraudsters. Please verify any such unusual requests directly with Fr. Keith or double-check any suspicious email by directly contacting the parish office. Never share personal or financial information in response to unsolicited emails and inform the parish office immediately if you receive them.
Please read the important statement from our bishops about the assisted suicide proposals: http://www.cbcew.org.uk/bishops-statement-assisted-suicide-nov24/
Our Breakfast Club for those in need is held every Tuesday morning from 6:15 to 8:00 in the Newman Room and has been growing in numbers each week (currently serving 20+ guests). We now need more volunteers to help the Companions of Malta who run the Club. Please contact Wojtek Szymczak (wojtek.szymczak@gmail.com) or simply come on Tuesday 6.30am to the Newman Room.
Whether you have been a regular practising Catholic or not in the past, we welcome you to worship with us on Sunday, and to let us know any ways you would like to contribute to our parish life, or in which we can be of help to you.
Our parish office is open Monday-Friday from 9.45am-1.30pm, when Mariella, our parish secretary, is there to welcome you and answer any questions you have. It is advisable to phone first – 020 7229 0487 – in case of any last minute change to the office hours.
Our parish Safeguarding Officer is Caterina Resca: bayswatersg2@safeguardrcdow.org.uk Phone / text: 07391 644193
Please introduce yourselves to me after Sunday Mass, or during the week, and may God bless you.
