This year has been such a unique year for both the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Catholic Church as a whole.

Pope Francis had declared 2025 as an ordinary jubilee year, with the theme Pilgrims of Hope. We marked the jubilee year in a number of different ways, which you can read about here. Plenty of other activities have happened too.

Jack Traynor

Starting in February, we marked the declaration of the miraculous cure of Jack Traynor in Lourdes 101 years previously.

Jack was in the Navy during the First World War, and suffered multiple injuries, including epilepsy and paralysis of his right side.

He set out on the very first archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1923 – against doctor’s advice.

The train they were travelling on even had to be stopped multiple times because of his condition.

However, after being in the baths in Lourdes nine times, and being blessed by the Archbishop of Rheims with the Blessed Sacrament, Jack was cured of all of his ailments.

Last December, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP declared that his cure was miraculous. This came after a previous attempt to have it declared a miracle failed in 1995.

In February, on the traditional feast day of St Bernadette, we all came together at the Metropolitan Cathedral to celebrate the declaration.

During Mass, Fr Grant Maddock, our Lourdes pilgrimage director, was appointed a Chaplain to the Shrine of Our Lady in Lourdes.

We also held a Jack Traynor themed prayer card competition with our schools. The winner, George, was selected by Archbishop John Sherrington, and his card was used throughout the archdiocese.

He came from St Austin’s school, Aigburth, where it is believed Jack Traynor’s grandchildren attended.

New Archbishop

On 5 April, it was announced in Rome that the Holy Father Pope Francis had appointed Most Rev John Sherrington, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and Titular Bishop of Hilta, as the tenth Archbishop of Liverpool.

Archbishop Malcolm made the announcement at early morning Prayer at the Metropolitan Cathedral, to coincide with the announcement in Rome.

At that moment, Archbishop Malcolm became the Apostolic Administrator of the archdiocese, and Bishop Sherrington became the Archbishop-elect, until his installation in May.

New Pope

While the celebrations for Easter were going on, the news broke of the death of Pope Francis, at the age of 88.

Once the mourning period had officially ended, the process of appointing a new Pope, or the Conclave, took place.

After a few days, it was announced that American Cardinal Robert Prevost had been appointed as the new Pope. He chose the name Leo XIV.

Thus, beginning a new era in the life of the Catholic Church.

Installation of Archbishop Sherrington

On 27 May, the feast of St Augustine of Canterbury, John Sherrington was officially installed as the tenth Archbishop of Liverpool.

The whole archdiocese came together in the Metropolitan Cathedral to welcome Archbishop Sherrington to his new home.

Soon after, he also travelled to the Isle of Man to officially take his position on the Cathedra at our co-cathedral of St Mary of the Isle in Douglas.

Lourdes

Our 102nd archdiocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes was significant for a number of reasons.

It was the first pilgrimage since the declaration of the miracle of Jack Traynor – which was the 71st Miracle of Lourdes and the first from the UK.

It was also the first since Archbishop Sherrington was installed. Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, the archbishop emeritus, also travelled to Lourdes for the occasion.

Whilst they were there, the 72nd miracle was also marked– that of Antonia Raco, who was cured of Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) in 2009 after being in the baths in Lourdes. There was a press conference that people from the archdiocese attended.

The story of Jack Traynor was also remembered by those in attendance.

Furthermore, next year marks the 50th youth pilgrimage to Lourdes – book your place on it if you haven’t done so already.

Ordination of Deacons

We welcomed two men into the permanent diaconate in September - Andrew Dell and Dennis Jones. Their ordination took place at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Dcn Andrew serves Our Lady of Compassion parish in Formby, and the Sefton Coast North Deanery, while Dcn Dennis is serving Ss Peter and Paul in Crosby and the Sefton Coast South Deanery.

Jubilarians in Rome

Recently, several of our jubilarians travelled out to Rome to celebrate their milestones. They had Evening Prayer, followed by a celebration dinner in the Apostolic Palace.

They are: 4 priests from the archdiocese (in addition to Archbishop John ) from left to right:

Fr Bill Murphy - Golden Jubilee

Fr Tony Slingo - Ruby Jubilee

Archbishop John Sherrington

Fr Graeme Dunne EV VF -  Ruby Jubilee

Fr Joseph Bibby - Ruby Jubilee

Adoremus

We celebrated Adoremus for the second time in November. People came from across the archdiocese and beyond to have time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and attend workshops on a variety of topics.

The event was very well attended, and went beyond last year’s numbers. Archbishop John Sherrington led the procession and blessed the city at the top of the cathedral steps.

With this year of Jubilee now over, we can now look forward to the extraordinary Jubilee of 2033, which will mark 2000 years since Christ’s resurrection.

Before then, 2026 has been declared as the Year of Matthew. Keep an eye across our communication channels for information of how this will be marked.