| Letter from Fr Mark McManus 9th June |
| Dear Parishioners of St Joseph's & St Charles', |
| You will have seen or perhaps heard that from Monday, 15 June, some churches will be reopening for private prayer. Neither St Charles' nor St Joseph's church will be open in the first allocation.
The diocese has mandated that the reopening will be phased across the diocese and it is currently considering 8 parishes, based principally on geography, which will be opened for private prayer from 15 June and how this will be effectively managed. Before they can open, all our parishes must undertake a thorough Risk Assessment, following guidelines issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, agreed with the government. No public services or ceremonies of any kind will be permitted during the first stage and, sadly, parishioners will still not be able to come to Mass at this time. You can, of course, continue to view Masses from across the world via live stream. Please pray that this phase will be short and that, however different and possibly difficult, we might be able to soon come together for holy Mass. When I have news of our own reopening I will let you know. I attach for you a letter from our bishop. Please continue to remember him in your prayers. Finally, I enclose Cardinal Nichols' statement on the reopening of churches below. Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us. St Joseph, pray for us. St Charles Borromeo, pray for us. With my prayers, Fr Mark McManus |