“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Thank you for your support of our Annual Fund 2025. I promised to let you know how it was all going and what you have helped us to achieve.

As you know, damaged asbestos was discovered in the roof over the Shrine Information Centre after a leak in our staff kitchen. Unfortunately, this is the worst thing that can happen to asbestos and for the safety of our team and visitors it had to be removed. The floor also needed replacing. This was done immediately thanks to the work of our brilliant builders and now the roof is asbestos-free, brand new and has the additional advantage that, for the first time in decades, it can also keep out the rain! As you can see from the photos below, it is now looking great (please see the before and after photos, below). Unfortunately, we are still raising money for this project as it cost more than we budgeted for – we hope that we can raise the funds as soon as possible. Thank you for your support with this important project.

The second project was to further improve the garden space around the Shrine Information Centre and Welcome Centre to commemorate the platinum jubilee of the Shrine. Our gardener worked his magic in this space, and it is truly beautiful to see. Our Garden of Hope and surrounding gardens serve to remind us that nature shows us true hope. Thank you for your support with this important project too.

Finally, the past year alone has enabled the Carmelite Charitable Trust to fund the development in Timor-Leste of a new complex for Carmelite friars preparing for ministry. The Trust also continues to contribute to the education of Timorese, Zimbabwean and Indian young Carmelites. Fr. Patrick Lombard, O.Carm visited the friars in Kenya and witnessed the tremendous effect of your contributions to the development of a new retreat centre.

We have also been able to respond to appeals in other countries when there have been natural disasters. We have welcomed so many pilgrims to the Shrine of Saint Jude for the jubilee including Bishop Paul Hendricks (our local bishop), the local Mayor and a Deputy Lieutenant. We hope that the drop of visitors since 2020 has now gone forever and we can return to the same levels that we enjoyed pre-Pandemic, so we can spread the message of this amazing place: hope. If you ever want to visit, please let us know and our Shrine Chaplain and Shrine Office team will arrange to meet you.

Each member of the Shrine Office team are so proud to be a part of the work at the Shrine and beyond – thank you for supporting these projects. We now have buildings that are safe for our staff and visitors to enjoy for many years to come, and we have been able to help vital projects throughout the world.

Thank you so much for your kind support of the Shrine of Saint Jude and the Carmelite Charitable Trust.

You can donate to the Annual Fund by clicking on the button below...