Take one dance teacher, three residents of an aged care facility with nearly three centuries of life between them, a complement of student dancers, a little inspiration and the result is a moving tale of life’s highs and lows.

Modern-day Ethiopia was the primary inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Perth Catholic Michael Muhling asserts in his book The Real Middle-Earth: Discovering the Origin of The Lord of the Rings.

To shouts of ‘Ole Ole’, a famous soccer crowd chant, 16 teams from the Archdiocese of Perth kicked off at Mercedes College on Saturday to compete for the Knights of the Southern Cross Cup. The first-time event, sponsored by the Malaysian Singaporean Catholic Community Australia (MSCCA), was coordinated by the Knights of the Southern Cross Cathedral Branch with the help of Mercedes Girls College to raise funds for the youth.

A ground breaking initiative linking expectant Timorese mothers with healthcare providers through mobile technology was partly inspired by University of Notre Dame lecturers who focused on social issues as they taught. The Liga Inan, or ‘Mobile Mums’, project aims to help improve the likelihood of healthy births and reduce infant mortality rates in the Southeast Asian country.

Good Shepherd Kelmscott parishioner Helen Crosby went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1985; the precursor to World Youth Day (WYD) and talks about her journey in lead up to WYD 2013 in Brazil.

There were two reasons for Mass being celebrated at Holy Spirit church in City Beach on Friday June 21: one, to celebrate the feast day of the founder of Opus Dei, St Josemaria Escriva; the second, to celebrate the arrival of Opus Dei in Australia 50 years ago.

In an ancient ceremony rich in symbolism, Perth’s Ukrainian Catholic community, based at St John the Baptist Church in Maylands, celebrated a special milestone when Perth man Richard Charlwood was ordained a subdeacon last Sunday. Mr Charlwood and the community are hoping this step will lead on to service as a Deacon for Perth’s Ukrainian Catholics.

More than 1,000 past and present parishioners joined the friends and family of Father Jim Corcoran at Mater Christi, Yangebup on June 2 to celebrate his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.

In preparation for next year’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the Corpus Christi Parish in Mosman Park produced a spectacular floral arrangement covering the central aisle of their church for the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 2.

The Catholic Education Office of Western Australia (CEO) plans to open at least five new primary and secondary schools in Perth over the next three years.