Grace Abounds

He leads one of the most closely watched local Churches in the English-speaking world. Archbishop John Wilson has been Archbishop of Southwark, south London and Kent, since 2019. In 2023 he launched Called to Bear Fruit, a synodal renewal process to equip parishes to evangelise, form disciples and inspire witness. The fruits are hard to ignore. This year more than 590 adults stood at the Rite of Election in St George's Cathedral, the highest in a single year since 2011, from 112 parishes, and strikingly young, with half aged 35 or under. But, as Archbishop John Wilson admits, he did not come to Southwark to manage decline. Visiting Sydney as a Plenary speaker at the Live-in Clergy Conference and as a guest speaker at the Scholarship at the Cathedral event on August 13, he spoke with the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation's Darren Ally for this episode of Grace Abounds.

In this Jubilee Year of St Francis of Assisi, Franciscan scholar Br William Short OFM reveals the saint behind the statue, a man who turned away from the sweet life of Assisi, wept over a lost darkness in his final years, and left behind an early biography no one knew existed until it surfaced in a Paris auction house a decade ago. Br William Short OFM is one of the world's foremost scholars of Francis of Assisi and a longtime professor of Christian spirituality. Co-editor of the definitive Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, he is also a gardener and one-time vineyard hand, having spent years of his formation in Italy pressing grapes. He was in Sydney as part of a Jubilee Year speaking tour that also took in Ireland, Sweden and New Zealand.

In this episode of Grace Abounds, we sit down with Sr Susanna Edmunds OP, a former biomedical engineering student who traded the lab for the convent after meeting Christ in the Eucharist with new eyes. Now Dean of Studies at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Sr Susanna joins us to share why the Eucharist is not a spiritual refuelling stop but the very engine of transformation and why the road to Eucharist28 runs not through grand moments alone, but through five quiet minutes before the Blessed Sacrament. Come as you are, she says, and be ready to be transformed.

Some people explain the Bible. Dr Mary Healy makes it come alive. One of the most beloved Scripture teachers in the Catholic world today, Dr Healy is a professor of Sacred Scripture, a bestselling author, and an international speaker, with acclaimed commentaries on Mark, Hebrews and Genesis to her name. She was also among the first women ever appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. But what sets her apart isn't the list of achievements. It's her rare gift for drawing people past the page and into a deeper, more personal encounter with God. That's exactly the conversation waiting for you on Grace Abounds.

Marcel LeJeune built one of the world's largest Catholic campus ministries from scratch. Now he coaches parishes. On 18 July, he brings that hard-won wisdom to the Parish Renewal Conference. When Marcel LeJeune arrived at St Mary's Catholic Centre at Texas A&M University in 2006, he inherited a ministry with two priests, a part-time deacon, a leaking roof, and no budget to speak of. By the time he left 11 years later, there were 63 staff, a $3.5 million budget, state-of-the-art facilities, 5,000 students at Sunday Mass, and fifteen students entering the priesthood or religious life each year. Now the founder and president of Catholic Missionary Disciples, an international coaching organisation dedicated to forming disciple-makers who make disciple-makers, LeJeune has taken that playbook to parishes and dioceses across the United States and beyond. On 18 July, he brings it to Sydney as a guest speaker at the Parish Renewal Conference, hosted by the Parish Renewal Team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation.

They have spent more than a decade sitting with the messiness of marriage and family life and finding in it not failure, but the very path to holiness. Now Mike and Alicia Hernon, founders of the Messy Family Project and hosts of one of America's most beloved Catholic family podcasts, are coming to Sydney in May, bringing with them a message that Catholic parents across Australia desperately need to hear: you are not failing, and you are not alone.

As Sydney welcomes the return of Dr Christopher West, the world's most passionate and influential voice on St John Paul II's Theology of the Body, the prominent Catholic author, speaker and theologian spoke to The Catholic Weekly, about his 2026 tour. Dr West, whose work has reached hundreds of thousands around the globe is, once again, bringing his deep knowledge of St John Paul II's teachings to Sydney audiences in a series of appearances in January, for the Life Marriage and Family team, within the Sydney Centre for Evanglisation. As Dr West reveals, this visit is much more than another tour; it's an opportunity to continue carrying the torch of St John Paul II's groundbreaking catechesis.

Daniel Ang is the Director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, in the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, where he leads strategic efforts to renew parish life and advance the churches evangelising mission. He lead the development and now manages the implementation of Go Make Disciples, the archdiocese's mission plan. Ang appeared at the Alpha Catholic conference in October, 2025, delivering an engaging, thought provoking key note speech, entitled: 'A Hope That Sends: Living Faith and Transforming Parish Life'. He challenged participants to be a people whose "hope acts and becomes flesh". Here is his keynote speech in its entirety.

With her deep knowledge of human behaviour and armed with a passion for bringing people to Christ, Sister Elena Marie Piteo's journey is a powerful testament to the integration of psychology and faith as a tool for evangelisation. A Dominican Sister of St Cecilia with a PhD in psychology and a passion for helping others flourish in faith. Sr Elena's work at Aquinas College, sees her combine her passion for the integration of contemporary psychology, science, mental health with her Catholic faith. Sr Elena was a guest speaker at the 'Way of Hope' Alpha Catholic Conference in October, 2025, offering this encouragement: "Don't be afraid. God desires to give you His very self. So come with an open and generous heart and you may be surprised by the gifts of God's Grace.".

Since being named Bishop of Christchurch in 2022, Bishop Michael Gielen has a proven track record of success in inspiring and nurturing parish renewal leadership within his archdiocese. It was this message of hope and practical evangelisation, that Bishop Michael brought to the 'Way of Hope' Alpha conference in late October, 2025. It all began as a young priest, leading communities through the devastation of the 2011 earthquakes. Bishop Gielen learnt that rebuilding parish communities requires both physical and spiritual renewal. but his message is clear: "Transformation is possible. It can be done."

Sr Miriam James Heidland's faith journey from a successful college athlete with a party-girl lifestyle to a deeply religious life as a nun, has seen her become a world-wide media symbol of hope for anyone seeking a deeper relationship with Christ. Through her podcasts, You Tube channel and bestselling books, Sr Miriam's honest conversations about her troubled past, her path to faith, spirituality, and personal growth, resonates with thousands around the world, especially women, whose interest in her story continues to grow. Sr Miriam's ministry, includes work with the Friends of the Bridegroom Ministry, which she shares with Fr John Burns, a beloved Catholic author and speaker from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in the United States. She and Fr John were interviewed for the 'Grace Abounds' podcast, ahead of their tour of Sydney in 2025, as guests of the Life, Marriage and Family team, within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation.