Summer camps for young girls are well underway across Ireland instilling values like friendship, loyalty and faith in remembrance and celebration of Michaela McAreavey. In July St Peter’s Primary School Cloughreagh outside Newry in Co. Down hosted the Michaela Foundation Girls’ Summer Camp for the fifth year running. The Armagh camp was one of 19…
A Franciscan missionary priest has been posthumously honoured by the Zimbabwean Government for his contributions to achieving independence in the country and his subsequent charitable work there. Fr Paschal Slevin, who died in Dublin on May 1 this year at the age of 83, was given the highest honour reserved for foreigners, The Royal Order…
Fr Cathal Deery was born in Monaghan town, and had a traditional Catholic upbringing, where the family rosary was a daily occurrence. “It was part of growing up,” he says, adding, “going to Mass wasn’t an option – we’d go every Sunday.” His maternal grandfather had a strong influence on his faith, which compelled him…
The pro-choice activist who draped a jumper with a Repeal slogan over the altar of a Dublin church, said he did it to inspire “burnt-out” fellow campaigners. Jim Healey, a pro-choice lobbyist, confirmed he took the photo of the jumper on the altar of the grotto outside Mary Immaculate Church in Inichore, Dublin. “I did…
The Bishop of Elphin has condemned the use of embryos in bio-medical research after US scientists succeeded in editing human genomes to remove mutations like heart disease. Bishop Kevin Doran, chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Consultative Group on Bioethics and Life Questions, said human embryos were, as part of the research, “being deliberately generated under…
Sport and exercise have become increasingly popular in Ireland, with people having a greater focus on getting into shape and staying healthy. A 2016 report revealed that over 45% of the adult population participate regularly in sport, equating to approximately 1.6 million people, and of these, 8.2% run. However, beginning a new sport like running…
Over a thousand young people are expected to attend a Catholic youth festival in Roscrea later this month, conference organisers say. The summer festival at Cistercian College will be a weekend of faith, fun and friendship, according to Youth 2000’s Brian O’Driscoll, who told The Irish Catholic: “The weekend offers a fantastic weekend of faith…
A place of people, prayer and peace, the French monastic site at Taizé offers a spiritual retreat from an often hectic and growing secular world. Established in 1940 by Brother Roger, who founded it as a safe haven during WWII, Taizé has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Europe, with over 100,000…
A cohort of keen and competitive children across Ireland will be challenging one another in their respective skills this summer, ranging from swim strokes to paint strokes to tennis strokes. Initially founded in 1967 to provide young people with lively and productive opportunities, the Community Games, now called the Aldi Community Games following a three-year…
A revitalising form of Christian worship is making new ground in Ireland after having been recently approved by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The Parish Cell System of Evangelisation entails a small community of faith groups, under the guidance of a leader, speaking about God’s role in their life as well as listening and…