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CAFOD gap year, Prisoners’ Sunday, ride for Mutemwa

Latest news from the Diocese of East Anglia includes a CAFOD gap year scheme, Prisoners’ Sunday, and a bike ride for the Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre.  


If you are aged 18 to 30 and unsure what to do in September, you could spend a year with CAFOD making a difference.

CAFOD’s Gap year programme, Step into the Gap, is a great opportunity for 18- to 30-year- olds to gain experience, develop skills and spend a year inspiring others to act for the poor and most marginalised. Participants will be based in a UK retreat centre or a Catholic secondary school, with accommodation, travel and stipend included; these young leaders are ambassadors for CAFOD and inspire others to put their faith into action.

Nicole, who has just finished the programme said “Step into the Gap has changed my life; I have met people wo will be with me forever. My faith has never been stronger, and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.”

In April Nicole visited Rome and Assisi with the other Gappers, meeting representatives from Caritas Internationalis, the Laudato Si’ movement and the Venerable English College. It was an opportunity to find out how the Global Catholic Church has the courage to act justly and walk in solidarity with people in need.

They also went on retreat to Assisi where they were able to find out about St Francis and spend time in prayer and contemplation. At the end of the 10-day trip they attended a Papal audience with Pope Francis listening to his thoughts and prayers for the world. 

On their return they were able to share their experience, along with other CAFOD resources and activities with other young people in sessions and assemblies.

You can find out more information including how to apply for September 2022 at www.cafod.org.uk/gapyear  The scheme is Open to UK applicants who have the right to live and work in the UK.


Prisoners’ Sunday takes place this year on Sunday October 9 with the theme ‘A Fresh Start’. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is President of the prisoners’ charity Pact, writes:

“I invite you to join with me in supporting Prisoners’ Sunday on October. Pact is the major Catholic charity for the support of prisoners and their families, working in prisons across England and Wales. It is good to know that Pact is there for people of all faiths and none, supporting prisoners and their families on our behalf and with our help.”

You can find out more on: Prisoners’ Sunday 2022


A charity bicycle ride took place this August in support of the people living with leprosy at Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre where John Bradburne (who went to school in Norfolk) cared for them.

Alex Macpherson and John Paynter, teachers based in Surrey and Bristol who are supporters of the John Bradburne Memorial Society, embarked on a sponsored 600 mile bike ride from Bristol to Liverpool along the Welsh Coast in August. They were raising awareness about leprosy and support of the people living at Mutemwa.

The John Bradburne Memorial Society was founded as a charity in 1995 in honour of its late warden, John Bradburne who spent the last 10 years of his life caring for those living with leprosy in Zimbabwe.

The society continues to support the Mutemwa Care Centre, whilst also spreading information about Bradburne’s Saintly life and prolific poetry writing. The donations received go towards the centre’s running expenses, salaries of workers, food, water and medicine. 

You can support cyclists and the Leprosy Centre through this link: www.justgiving.com/campaign/rideforleprosy

Pictured above are this year’s members of the CAFOD gap year scheme. Below are John Paynter (left) and Alex Macpherson (right) on their ride for the Mutemwa Centre.

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