Welcome to the online community for The Catholic Parish of Blessed John 23rd Stanhope Gardens where the love of Christ is shining in so many ways. From our sacramental programs, to our youth nights to our support of the younger members of our parish, there's plenty to smile about and you can read it all below.

Our next Blaze youth program for those in Years 6-8 is being held on Friday 29 May from 5:30-7pm at Holy Cross Primary Library on Meurants Lane, Glenwood.

The program promises to be a fun-filled spiritual experience with games, discussion and great activities, so make sure you tell all your friends and come along for what is sure to be a good night.

Speaking of our youth, Blessed John XXIII is starting up a brand new youth program for our Year 9 and 10 teens straight after Blaze from 7:30-9pm at Holy Cross Library, Glenwood.

It's a chance for people to meet other teens, hang out and grow in friendship and fellowship in Christ so make sure you don't miss out on what is sure to be one of the coolest groups around.

If you have any relatives or friends living in the Parish who find it hard to Mass due to illness or being housebound, we are more than happy to offer them a visit from a Priest or the opportunity to receive Holy Communion at home.

To find out more, please contact our Parish Secretary Christine on the number available in the 'contact us' section of this website.

Please pray for our children in the parish who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on the 10, 11 and 17 June 2009.

The Sacrament of Confirmation period is also a great chance for us as Catholics to remember what it means to be a confirmed Catholic. To help us in this process and to understand further why the sacrament of confirmation is important in our lives, Fr Kevin has kindly written a special Pastoral Letter for you to read, which can be found here.

Every first Sunday of the month at Blessed John XXIII we hold a special Children's Mass at 10:30am, with the next one to be held on 7 June.

If you or your child would like to participate in this mass for the kids, whether it is through song, reading or dance please contact Joanne Todhunter, with details available in the latest bulletin.

In addition to Children's mass, we now also have 'Hello God', a state of the art presentation of the word of God, which is available for your children each week from the church foyer and the bulletin rack near the side door of the church.

Finally, to help your children to share in your experience of mass, we have a colourful Children's Missal which provides an easy-to-understand walkthrough the mass. It is available for $7 from the Parish Office.

It's the social phenomenon that's swept the nation, well actually many nations and now it's not only become a great way for friends to keep in contact, but it's also become a place for people to show their support of all things, from sporting teams, to chocolate.

But did you know you can not only show your love for Christ, but also your support for your Parish on Facebook as well.

Just by visiting http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Australia/Blessed-John-XXIII-Catholic-Parish/69513225540 and becoming our fan, you have a great chance to meet other people in the Parish, keep up to date with the latest news that those in the Parish have to say and also see some pretty cool photos of our events.