Ballajura parishioners are this month being called to come together in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the parish, and 25th anniversary of the opening of the Church of Mary MacKillop.

The Rite of Election 2024 Mass, held at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth is part of an ancient Catholic tradition where the catechumens and candidates are prepared to be received fully into the Catholic Church.

On a sunny and windy day, about 60,000 people attended the Mass on 24 March, which began with a solemn procession of hundreds of people carrying green palm branches followed by about 60 cardinals and bishops, carrying “palmurelli,” pale green palm branches that were woven and braided.

Sydney Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, an American novice in a sinister Italian convent. How did she end up there? Well, her home parish closed for lack of attendance and, rather than simply go to the next church over, she felt the need to cross the Atlantic to find a new spiritual home.

Developing faith in Christ “requires a meaningful experience lived in the family and in the Christian community as a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ in order to be transmitted,” Pope Francis wrote in his message to members of the dicastery during their plenary assembly.

Opened 30 March 1974 by then Archbishop Launcelot Goody, the former church of St Francis of Assisi Maida Val Parish was no longer large enough to accommodate all the parishioners.

Pope Francis’ reflections on his life and his future are included in a new book, Life: My Story Through History, written with Italian journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona.

That Pope Francis did not wait until the end of the Second Assembly to convoke the study groups, “shows that he has a heart that listens; he listened and is acting,” Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary-General of the Synod, told reporters on 14 March.

Adapted by screenwriter Michael Brandt from Mikael Lindnord’s 2016 memoir “Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home,” the film showcases adventure racing, a challenging multi-event team competition in which participants take on the rigors of the wilderness.

Titled “Vulnerability and Abuse: Toward a Wider View of Prevention,” the conference was designed to discuss “the handling of power and authority in the church” and to broaden conversations about abusive conduct beyond the crime of sexual abuse.