Novena in honour of St Thérèse of Lisieux in St. Eugene's Cathedral

The focus of the Novena will be healing and the theme is ‘My Vocation is Love.’

The opening Mass and Anointing of the Sick takes place at 7.30 pm, with music by the Rejoice Folk Group.

From Monday to Friday next week there will be Novena Masses at 6.30 a.m. and 10.00 a.m.

Music at the 10.00 am Mass will be from Rosemount P.S. on Monday; St Anne’s P.S. on Tuesday; Nazareth House P.S. on Wednesday; St Thérèse P.S. on Thursday and St Eugene’s P.S. on Friday.

Each evening, from Monday to Friday at 7.30 pm, there will be a time of prayer, during which there will be a guest speaker and also a time for silent prayer in the presence of the Eucharist. The Cantor is Anne Marie Hickey and the Organist Aidan Watkins.

On Sunday at 6.00 pm, during a time of prayer and devotions, Bishop McKeown will speak.

On Monday Kathleen Chada, from Tipperary, will speak about living with indescribable pain after the murders of her two sons. Music by St Mary’s College. The speaker on Tuesday is Fr Dermott Donnelly, a Newcastle priest whose parents are from Co Derry. Fr Dermott is a pioneer in youth ministry in England and might have a famous brother! Music by The Pink Ladies.

The speaker on Wednesday is Archdeacon Robert Miller, with music by St. Eugene’s Cathedral Choir, while the speaker and soloist on Thursday is Donna Taggart, whose recording of ‘Jealous of the Angels’ received 80 million Facebook views. The speaker on Friday evening is Freddie Pimm, a doctor in the NHS, training as a GP. He is the author of The Selfish Gospel, which looks at how the church can better transform the world, where we’re going wrong and how we can start to fix it. Music by the McGinley School of Music. On Saturday (May 19) the 10.00 am Mass will be celebrated for the dead. Music by the Rejoice Folk Group. The Closing Ceremony on Sunday, May 20 at 3.00 pm will feature the blessing of roses and candles.

The Novena will be an opportunity for people to ask St Thérèse to pray for them and their families. There will be a petition box beside the statue of St Thérèse and these petition intentions will be remembered at all the Masses and each evening.

Fr Paul Farren, Adm. of St Eugene’s, said: “The Little Way Novena has become a very important part of the annual faith life of the cathedral. It is nine days when faith is celebrated and many people find great joy and healing. This year again we are blessed with wonderful people who are willing to share the story of their faith. I invite everyone to come to St. Eugene’s Cathedral to be part of our faith family joined together in prayer and hope.”