For the third year in a row, famed Newman University Church in Dublin celebrated couples that have been married there on February 16. They hosted a Mass for the couples followed by a reception with champagne and chocolates. Throughout the month of February they displayed photographs of couples on their wedding day that were submitted by…
Secular Ireland will ‘pay a price’ for forgetting God
Priest calls on Christians to unite A well-known Irish priest has warned of “stormy seas” ahead and that Christians must face the “common enemy” of secularism and godlessness together. Vincentian priest Fr Pat Collins CM, who is an expert in deliverance ministry and is due to speak at the Divine Mercy National Conference in the…
Housing should not delay tying the knot, say married couples
Married couples have responded to new statistics from Accord showing almost half of couples delay marriage due to the housing crisis, giving a plethora of advice including “you can live in a tent and still be married”. Hundreds of people who were married in Newman University Church in Dublin gathered in the church over the…
Louth shrine of St Oliver Plunkett marked as a jubilee pilgrim site
“Devoted” St Oliver Plunkett played a vital role in Drogheda, dedicating himself to education and “the sanctification of his clergy and faithful”, the Primate of All Ireland has said, designating St Peter’s church a place of pilgrimage for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh launched #Oliver400 last week marking the…
Christian marriage is not a ‘Cupid candy floss spirituality’
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…
Pupils with special needs are affected most by teacher shortage says expert
A priority for the new Minister for Education must be to tackle chronic teacher shortages as it is causing schools to “struggle” to help children, particularly those with special needs, according to the Catholic Education Partnership (CEP). Alan Hynes, CEO of the CEP told The Irish Catholic that “from the point of view of a…
Martyred St Valentine is not Cupid
The Church presents an ideal vision of marriage but it must also minister to people in their real struggles, Chai Brady hears. As Ireland faces demographic challenges with fewer people getting married and fewer babies being born, there is an open question as to what the future may hold. A recent study by the Iona…
More than 1,300 attend Kildare pilgrimage honouring St Brigid
Bumper numbers of pilgrims attended Monasterevin Parish’s ‘Camino walk’ to celebrate St Brigid on St Brigid’s bank holiday Monday. This year saw more than 1,300 people taking part from across Ireland in the Camino’s third year. The walk was led by Bishop Denis Nulty of the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and organised by Fr…
Reggae gets religious with British sisters
A group of sisters in England have teamed up with two Christian musicians to produce a ‘reggae-pop’ version of the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 hymn. A music video of the cover of the song was posted on YouTube by the two-piece band Ooberfuse on the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, February 2.…
Carmelites open arms to ‘lonely’ and ‘disconnected’ young men
A parish church in the centre of Dublin has been helping an “amazing number of young men” who are struggling with “serious loneliness” and a feeling of disconnection. While the church regularly welcomes faithful of all ages and ethnicities, there are many young men searching for someone to speak to, according to Fr James Eivers…