Parish Newsletters
Corpus Christi & 11th Sunday of Easter Year (A)
7 June 2026
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
On the Feast Day of the Body and Blood of Christ we recall that Jesus’ command was to “Take and eat and drink. Do this in memory of me.”
It is because of that command that people have found no better thing to do than to celebrate the Eucharist, the Mass
For someone who has died;
For the success of an operation;
On a couple’s Wedding Day;
For a sick person who is about to die.
Down the ages people have found no better thing to do than to celebrate the Eucharist
Trinity Sunday Year (A)
30 May 2026
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
From the Source Book for Sundays and Seasons.
The Spirit of Easter echoes down two more Sundays, this weekend’s celebration of the Trinity and next weekend’s Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, although we are now in Ordinary Time until the Feast of Christ the King in November.
Because of this we retain a strong sense of celebration. The purpose of this day is to celebrate our belief in the revelation of God’s very nature in the Holy and Blessed Trinity.
Pentecost Sunday Year (A)
23 May 2026
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
Coming from the Greek word for fifty, Pentecost originally began as a Jewish Celebration in thanksgiving for the ‘First Fruits’ when winter grain and spring vegetables were harvested, enjoyed and offered to God.
For us Christians we celebrate the Birthday of the Church. For us, Jesus is the ‘First Fruits’ of those who have died and his Resurrection heralds our own at the end of time. But for now we live as Christians in the world empowered by his Spirit of peace and forgiveness.
7th Sunday of Easter Year (A)
16 May 2026
THOUGHTS FOR THIS WEEKEND
From the Source Book for Sundays and Seasons 2002 for the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
The Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus must have felt like loss to those who loved him most. Left to themselves they each must have experienced the personal emptiness that comes from the loss of a person loved and admired. Even so they did not feel loss just as individuals; they felt it as a community.
The Parish of Haigh, Aspull & Blackrod
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was founded in the mid 1850's and is part of the R.C. Diocese of Salford. The Church was blessed and opened in 1858, the year of the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes. The Church was re-ordered in the 1990's and several new stained-glass windows were installed, some made in Blackrod, and are an interesting feature of the Church.
Holy Family Parish, New Springs, was funded from Our Lady's in 1898 and in 2009 clebrated the Golden Jubilee of its Church. The community of Blackrod, Bolton, had a chapel-of-ease from 1960 to 2009 when St. Andrews Church Hall was closed.
All three areas - Haigh & Aspull, Blackrod and New Springs are now served from Our Lady's.
Rev Kevin Foulkes
48 Haigh Road
Aspull
Wigan WN2 1YA
TEL: 01942 516732
Mass Times
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
6.00pm
9.30am
11.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
9.15am
11.00am
Haigh
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Holy Family
Haigh
Haigh
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday
11:30 - 12 noon
As announced
Haigh
Holy Family
A Parish History ~ 1858-2018
Mr Livesey & Mr West have worked with local parishioners to produce a book about the history of our parish and school, they have kindly allowed us to reproduce an electronic version of their book, available on the Parish Page, CLICK HERE to read it.
If you would like to purchase a hard copy of the book CLICK HERE
Forward...
It is a privilege and honour to write the forward to the Parish History of Our Lady’s Parish, on its 160th Anniversary.
It has also been a privilege and honour, and a pleasure, to serve as Our Lady’s Parish Priest since 1997 – following in the footsteps of my twenty-six predecessors.
Saint Peter writes ‘He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house.’ (Peter 2:3-5)
We are the living stones of this Christian community – commissioned as ‘missionary disciples’ to be Christ’s ‘ambassadors’ (St. Paul Cor. 5:20) in loving witness, worship and service to our community.
There have been many changes over these 160 years – in the Church, Society, Education and the design of Our Lady’s Church. The priests and people of Our Lady’s Parish have experienced many joyful family and Parish celebrations but also wars, peace, poverty and economic depressions, through twelve Pontificates and six Reigns – and we too are facing a challenging time for the Catholic Church. Blessed John Henry, Cardinal Newman wrote that ‘To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often’.
And so, building on and celebrating our heritage – the stones of Our Lady’s Church, and the ‘living stones’ of our dedicated, faithful and often courageous priests, parishioners and teachers in our Parish School we can face the future with confidence. We do so knowing that Jesus, Our Risen Lord, has promised to be with his Church forever. (Matthew 28:20)
I commend this publication to be read and enjoyed by everyone.
Many thanks to Phil Livesey and Neil West for their initiative to begin and to bring this book to completion and to all who have collaborated with them, with their own very interesting and often amusing memories! God bless you all.
Fr Kevin C. Foulkes