On October 9th 2025, Pope Leo released the first major magisterial document of his papacy: Dilexi te (I have loved you). This document, addressed to all Christians, reminds us that at the heart of our faith is the call to love our neighbour and of the love that God has for those who are poor, the most vulnerable and marginalised.
Dilexi te encourages us to take concrete actions to build a better world and makes clear that welcoming migrants is a crucial part of the Church’s mission, stating that the Church ‘knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.’
As we move into November, the Refugee Project is increasingly busy and continues to welcome clients from across the world. In September, we supported 568 individuals and families and received 58 new registrations from clients in need of food and toiletries to supplement their meagre allowance. With constantly growing numbers, we really do need and appreciate your donations of food, toiletries and finance. The full list of items required is here.
During October, we were pleased to welcome His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, the Papal Nuncio, on his pastoral visit to our Diocese, together with his secretary and Bishop Stephen. Whilst at the project, he conversed with several clients, volunteers and members of the steering group and he very much enjoyed his visit.
With increasing numbers of clients using our services, we are incredibly grateful to be able to source foods from local supermarkets and we were pleased to receive the news that FareShare have increased the amount of food provided to us from 100kg to 120kg per week. We were also thrilled to receive a £500 grant from Sainsbury’s Good Food Award through Neighbourly, a giving platform that helps businesses make a positive impact in their communities by donating volunteer time, money and surplus products.
A significant challenge for our clients is the difficultly in affording the data and credit they need and volunteers are repeatedly asked if the project can provide SIM cards. We have recently started to register clients to receive SIM cards, supplied by the SVP, and will continue this initiative over the coming months.
The project relies on the generous time given by our volunteers (there are currently around 40) who fulfil a range of roles. We would love to hear from anyone who might like to get involved and make a difference to the lives of those we support. If you are interested, please contact our Project Co-ordinator.
We were delighted to receive a visit from 24 pupils with 3 of their teachers from St Oswald’s Primary School in October. The pupils were introduced to the work that we do at the project, getting involved in activities and meeting our volunteers. We would like to sincerely thank St Oswald’s School for their very generous donation at Harvest Festival.
We continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and parishes for donations for which we are incredibly grateful. As we continue to support more than 550 clients and their families each month, financial support for our work is also essential. Details of our bank account (DHN Justice & Peace Refugee Project) can be found on our webpage. Please consider Gift-Aiding – a Gift Aid Declaration form is available here.
For more details about our work and how you can assist, please contact our Project Co-ordinator.