An air of mystery shrouds elements of the Archbishop of Dublin’s ambitious new ‘twin pillar’ strategy for the archdiocese which centres on St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral and St Andrew’s Westland Row – soon to be made a cathedral and minor basilica respectively. Archbishop Dermot Farrell pegged the two churches as being well placed to be developed…
Beloved GAA player was buried on Monday after one year battling with brain cancer. Caolan Finnegan, aged 20, was buried at St Patrick’s Church, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh. The young star was given a final lap around Oliver Plunkett Park pitch before the burial. Mr Finnegan scored one of the Crossmaglen’s goals in their Armagh Final…
Saint Bernadette Special The relics of the saints are a trusted way to draw closer to God, writes Michael Kelly Catholic veneration of relics – body parts and indeed objects linked to the lives of holy men and women – goes right back to the early Church. The bodies of the martyrs were often retrieved…
There is a phrase that seems to send a ripple of fear through many Mass-goers these days. And it’s nothing to do with eternal punishment! Though Catholics of course should fear hell, it’s rarely mentioned. No, what appears to frighten the congregation these days is when a bishop or priest declares, after the consecration: “You…
Saint Bernadette Special Seldom do events or phenomena have a timeless appeal. Global juggernauts in the form of organisations and large-scale companies have tried and mostly failed to perfect products, slogans or inventive designs that transcend generations and secure permanent lustre. As Catholics, we’re reminded to stray away from the material and the commercial, but…
Assuming that only atoms and forces exist, you’ll miss out on things like beauty, truth and love says Br Guy Consolmagno “What do I do if science tells me one thing, but religion tells me another thing? Which do I believe?” There’s a false assumption at the centre of that question, because neither science nor…
St Patrick’s Parish, Belfast has been reduced to just one priest for the first time in 200 years. The parish not only attends the spiritual and pastoral needs of the community, but also serves a hospital, a primary school, several residential and care homes, and the new Ulster University Belfast Campus. The large scale building…
Five years after the Amazon Synod, members of the region’s Church gathered in Manaus, Brazil, in order to discuss ways to implement the changes suggested in 2019 during the meeting in Rome. The need to increase the women’s participation in ecclesial life and alternatives for the Church’s financial challenges in the Amazon were among the…
Saint Bernadette Special Many miracles are attributed to St Bernadette and the Shrine in Lourdes. People travel to Lourdes from all around the world to be cured from all sorts of illnesses. Ireland has a long connection with the French town, dating back to the 1880s, when the first English-speaking pilgrimage was organised. Terry Clarke,…
The news that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation in the form of a £13,000 payout and an apology from the UK police after she contested her arrests for silently praying in the vicinity of an abortion clinic as a breach of her human rights should be greeted with a degree of caution here in Ireland.…
Chai Brady
Michael Kelly
Martina Purdy
Brandon Scott
Renata Steffens