On this, the Solemnity of St. Joseph, marking the 150th anniversary when Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed St Joseph as the Patron Saint of the Universal Church in 1870, we remember fathers throughout the world.
To aid us in our prayer and reflections, we have a dedicated prayer booklet for the Year of St. Joseph which can be downloaded below.
In addition we will be hearing from fathers who live in our diocese, speak of their experience of being a father.
We hope you will enjoy these audio recordings which begin with Simon Wilkins from Taunton and his experience of being a dad!
Every other week we hope to have further reflections. If you would like to share your experience of being a father please do contact Sarah: sarah.adams@cliftondiocese.com
In addition we have a reflection on the ‘colours’ of St. Joseph by one of our seminarians of the same name – Joseph Meigh. We hope you will enjoy what is on offer as we move through this special year.
Tom Osman
Tom has been married to Nicola since 2010. They live in Portishead with their two children Ava (6) and Alban (2) Formerly a teacher, Tom now divides his time between working with the Franciscan Friars Clevedon as a part time parish administrator and looking after his children the remainder of his time. Tom enjoys music and watching rugby, playing football and golf. He is an active member of the parish music ministry, singing and playing the guitar. At other times he plays trombone in the local Concert band.
Adrian Rogers
Adrian Rogers – a parishioner at the Sacred Heart parish Bristol – has worked in the Diocesan Finance Office for the last six years.
He is the very proud father of two; a 10 year old son (who thinks he’s 15) and a 9 year old daughter (who thinks she’s 12)!
Paul Andrewartha
I am the Lay Chaplain of Downside School in Somerset. Was born in New Zealand and have lived here for the past 16 years. During this time I progress my personal and professional development of Youth Ministry, from working with a Mission Diocese Team, to parish youth worker. Four years ago I was employed by Downside as their first Lay Chaplain. Emily and I got married in 2011, since then our family have grown with three girls and a boy, who are all under 9! Life is definitely not dull!
Bartek Kowalewski
Bartek Kowalewski is one of our trainee deacons. He has been living in Bristol for nearly 14 years now and is based in the Polish community Parish Church of the Shrine of Mercy in Bristol. There he is involved in catechesis and evangelisation for youth, men, marriages and families. He is husband to Anna and father of 3 children; he loves the Bible, all things related to evangelisation, coffee and sport.
Fr Louis Beasley-Suffolk
Fr Louis is the Parish priest at St Luke and St Teresa in Wincanton. In the video to the left, he talks about being a father, grandfather and also being a priest.
Richard Mills
Richard Mills is training to be a Deacon whilst also practising as a Solicitor. He lives with his family in Frome.
Ben Sloper
Ben is married to Colette and they have two children, both still at school. They live in Crewkerne and are part of the English Martyrs, Chard parishes. Ben and his family moved to Somerset in 2017 from West Sussex where he worked as a herdsman on a dairy farm. In his spare time he enjoys kayaking and walking in the beautiful surrounding countryside as well as cooking and playing guitar.
Simon Wilkins has recorded a short reflection for us which you can listen to below:
Simon lives in Taunton with his wife and daughter and is a parishioner of St George’s. He is studying for a Diploma in Pastoral Ministry and Leadership, loves being outside and enjoys walking, swimming and his garden.
Joseph C. Meigh, 5th Year Seminarian for the Diocese of Clifton, Reflects for us on St Joseph in Seven Colours.
Read his full Reflection here: Joseph seven colours PDF
Prayer for the Year of St Joseph document: Prayer for the Year of St Joseph PDF