On the 14th of June, we acknowledge and thank voluntary blood donors, and encourage new donors. Lifeblood, a division of the Australian Red Cross Society, is funded by Australian governments, who provide life-giving blood, plasma, transplantation and biological products for world-leading health outcomes.
Over 116,000 Australians are experiencing homelessness right now. On one of the longest and coldest nights of the year, June 23rd, business owners and community and government leaders are encouraged to ‘sleep rough’ for a night to raise awareness and vital funds for homelessness in Australia.
“Pope Francis has expressed his condolences for the victims of a terror attack on a Catholic Church during Mass in Nigeria’s southwestern Ondo State that killed more than 50 people, including several children.”
This year, on the 5th of June, we celebrate World Environment Day, with the theme of ‘Only One Earth’. This focuses on living sustainably in harmony with nature. Over 150 countries participate in World Environmental Day annually.
Each year we memorialise National Sorry Day on the 26th of May, to acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the Stolen Generations, who were forcibly removed from their families.
Laudato Si’ Week, this year to be held May 22-29, marks the 7th anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on creation care. This event unites Catholics to listen and respond to the cry of creation and celebrate the process that has so far been made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life.
On Sunday the 15th of May, Pope Francis recognised 10 new Saints into the Catholic Church. This was the first canonization since 2019 where John Henry Newman among others were canonized.
From the 16th to the 22nd of May, we acknowledge and celebrate National Volunteer’s Week. With this year’s theme of Better Together, this is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteering. It’s a chance for everyone to recognise and thank the vital work of our volunteers.
On Thursday the 12th of May, we celebrate International Nurses Day. A day to acknowledge and celebrate the commitment and bravery of all nurses, world-wide. This year, the theme is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing and respect rights to secure global health.’
This year, we celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday the 8th of May. Mother’s Day is a celebration to honour all aspects of being a Mother. This can include the Mother of a family or individual, any maternal relationship and the influence of Mothers in todays world.