The custodian priest of St Valentine’s relics in Ireland has warned that the Christian idea of marriage as sacramental and not just romantic emotions is being lost as the “world markets the idea that marriage can come and go”. “The worry I have with St Valentine is that he gets mixed up with Cupid, this…
The Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is running a two-year diploma in Pastoral Ministry for lay people. Thirty one people started the period of discernment with a gathering on the evening of February 7. This period will end in June and the course starts in September. The programme, announced in October 2024, had a series…
The former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has called on the Irish Government to establish its own inquiry into the Omagh bombing to create a clear picture of the tragedy. Baroness Nuala O’Loan investigated the August 15, 1998 incident in which 29 people and two unborn children died, describing it as the “single worst terrorist…
A Benedictine monk based in Glenstal Abbey, Co. Limerick, has recently published a new book, The people’s celebration of the Eucharist. Fr Fintan Lyons explained to The Irish Catholic that the idea to write this book came from a series of questions that some lay people have asked him on the Eucharist. “I was trying…
The 400th anniversary of the birth of the martyred St Oliver Plunkett was celebrated at a service on Wednesday in Drogheda. Fr Eugene Sweeney PP said: “Oliver Plunkett lived at a remarkably difficult and chaotic time. His resilience, courage and constant efforts for peace and justice are truly inspiring, and therefore it is appropriate to…
