At the Foot of the Cross: Recent Episodes
Catholic Bishops' Conference
'At the Foot of the Cross' is a monthly podcast from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales bringing you the latest news, project updates, events, prayer and more. We discuss our workstreams, from pro-life issues, Catholic life and worship and social action, to heritage and patrimony, environmental concerns and international aid and development.
The only place to start with June’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast is to offer an apology. After two months of radio silence, we return with an episode that looks back over April and May and forward into June. At least it’s pack with audio clips to keep you engaged! The thread running […]
March’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast focuses on Holy Week and our journey to the Cross at this profound moment in our Catholic life. Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, joins us to bring us up to speed with the workings of the Secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. We […]
It’s an early Lent this year and as such, the focus of February’s At the Foot of the Cross is very much on the three pillars of the season – prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, joins us to talk about what’s crossing his desk at the Secretariat of the Bishops’ […]
The first At the Foot of the Cross podcast of 2024 has a very ecumenical flavour to it. That is a word that can confuse rather than clarify so what we’re discussing today is dialogue and Christian unity. There are many reasons for this. Firstly we have the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from […]
The November 2023 episode of At the Foot of the Cross has crept in on the very last day of the month. The task set for our General Secretary, Canon Chris Thomas, is to bridge the gap from the Feast of Christ the King to the wonderful season of Advent – that sacred time before […]
October’s At the Foot of the Cross comes out as we approach the end of the month so we felt it appropriate to look ahead to November and the month of the Holy Souls when we pray for and remember our loved ones and friends who have died. Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the […]
Mission and good custodianship are the order of the day for this ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ – the first after the summer break. Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, rather skilfully threads the ‘mission’ topics of the day through this podcast. We talk about two forthcoming documents from Pope Francis. An Exhortation on […]
Our summer ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ is very much a pilgrimage podcast. So whether you’re staying at home or travelling abroad, there’s always time to walk with the Lord and deepen your faith. Canon Chris Thomas, General Secretary here at the Bishops’ Conference, joins us to welcome a newly-installed Bishop for Hexham and […]
Our summer ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ is very much a pilgrimage podcast. So whether you’re staying at home or travelling abroad, there’s always time to walk with the Lord and deepen your faith. Canon Chris Thomas, General Secretary here at the Bishops’ Conference, joins us to welcome a newly-installed Bishop for Hexham and […]
June’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast is just creeping in at the end of the month. It’s a ‘mea culpa’ from the presenter who has been away for a few weeks. This is very much a programme of accompaniment and encounter – very apt words for the synodal pathway we find ourselves treading. […]
June’s At the Foot of the Cross podcast is just creeping in at the end of the month. It’s a ‘mea culpa’ from the presenter who has been away for a few weeks. This is very much a programme of accompaniment and encounter – very apt words for the synodal pathway we find ourselves treading. […]
The mission of the Church, how we share our faith with others and the need to communicate clearly and truthfully from the heart – these are the over-arching themes of our At the Foot of the Cross podcast. Know who you’re speaking to, be human, be relational – all aspects of good communication modelled by […]
Holy Week is a very sacred time for us as we follow Christ from his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem to the foot of the Cross – the name of this very podcast – as sorrowful bystanders to His Passion. On Easter Sunday, we roll back the stone of the empty tomb and share in the […]
We’ve held our February podcast back a week so we can justly and solemnly mark the tragedy of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, the Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the UK gives us an extended interview as we remember all those who have died and […]
A new year, a new ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ podcast. Much has happened since we were last with you. A prayerful focus on the last days of Advent and the O Antiphons was followed by the joy of the Word Made Flesh – the coming of Christ at Christmas. That, in turn, was […]
Our final ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ podcast of the year features a whistle-stop review of the year with our General Secretary, Canon Christopher Thomas. As we move prayerfully through the final octave of Advent, and with our O Antiphons audio series live and online, in this podcast, we look towards Christmas and the […]
November’s ‘At the Foot of the Cross’ really is pushing its luck, coming in on the last day of the month. Profound apologies, but, hopefully, it’s well worth the wait. Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference joins us and kick-starts the podcast by reviewing elements of the Bishops’ November plenary meeting at […]
We have two interesting years ahead of us in the life of the Catholic Church. 2025 is a Jubilee Year where the theme is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. In the lead-up, not only do we have a two-part Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome in 2023 and 2024, we also prepare for the Jubilee with two […]
The director of a new Ukrainian Welcome Centre in central London has urged Britons to keep their hearts and doors open to Ukrainians who are arriving in the UK fleeing the war in their homeland. Andriy Marchenko talks to us about the Centre, based at the cathedral of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy […]
Welcome to At the Foot of the Cross – a monthly podcast from the secretariat of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. This episode is something of a summer offering, covering July and August. We’re joined by our regular guest Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary here at the Bishops’ Conference. We start with […]
At the Foot of the Cross looks at the Pope’s announcement that he will create 21 new cardinals at the end of the summer, one of whom is the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments – our very own Archbishop Arthur Roche. A former Bishop of Leeds, Cardinal-elect […]
May’s At the Foot of the Cross looks back on the Bishops’ visit to Cardiff for their first plenary meeting in Wales for 18 years. Canon Christopher Thomas, General Secretary here at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, joins us to talk about the historic meeting and its fruits. We discuss, specifically, a […]
It’s Eastertide and time for the second episode in our new monthly podcast series At the Foot of the Cross. In early May, our Bishops are meeting in plenary away from their usual venue of Hinsley Hall in the Diocese of Leeds. This time, the Bishops spring gathering takes place in Cardiff – the first […]
Welcome to the first podcast of a new monthly series called ‘At the Foot of the Cross’. Each month we’ll bring you updates from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Whether it’s the Church’s response to a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic, or an aspect of Catholic life and worship like the […]