Padre Pio was far from the only saint to have borne stigmata, writes Greg Daly “God,” Pope Francis reminds us in Amoris Laetitia, “allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity.” For all that we think of St Pio of Pietrelcina by his religious name…
Month: March 2018
Padre Pio: the Irish connections
Irish links to the famous Capuchin date back to the 1920s, writes Colm Keane To the Irish setting out for San Giovanni Rotondo in the 1950s, it must have felt like the ultimate pilgrimage. They first travelled long journeys by air in old prop planes. They then wound their way by slow trains and…
Bishop urges abuse survivors to step forward
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin has encouraged abuse survivors to come forward after confirming the late Fr Malachy Finegan ministered in the diocese for three years. Bishop Denis Nulty said in his St Patrick’s Day homily that his concern “is that someone may be suffering in silence” after acknowledging the notorious child abuser Fr…
Homeless find hope in Dublin Coffee Shop
The number of homeless people availing of Focus Ireland’s Advice and Info service in Dublin has tripled in the first two months of this year compared to 2017, with one service user saying it has given him hope. In January and February 2018 the service supported 266 people compared to 86 in the same timeframe…
Family saved by a saint
Did Padre Pio’s intercession save a family of seven, asks Chai Brady In a near-death experience a holidaying Irish family of seven crashed onto a motorway after losing control of their car in the US. Tumbling down an embankment after swerving to avoid another motorist, Cavan man Martin McBreen said the accident could have…
Social media transparency a priority before referendum
A bill on social media transparency, currently at committee stage, should become law before the Referendum on the Eighth Amendment, according to its sponsor, Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless, TD. “On social media at the moment anyone can do anything they want,” the Kildare North TD told The Irish Catholic. “It is positive that people can…
I’m speechless! The lessons of enforced silence
I opened my mouth to speak, last weekend, and what emerged sounded like the strangled bleatings of an afflicted ewe. By Monday I was entirely speechless, my voice chords silenced by a nasty attack of laryngitis. Whispering and written messages were the only replacements. People were understanding when I signalled “I’ve lost my voice” –…
A saint of our time
Colm Fitzpatrick speaks with the director of an Irish St Pio charity With devotion to Padre Pio still continuing to grow, one woman is providing an opportunity for people globally to learn more about the incredible work of this modern saint. Eileen McGuire, who is the director of the Irish Office of St Pio…
The secret of loyal opposition
The View The role of the loyal critic is a vital one in the Church. Many times in its history, the Church has lost its way and been recalled to it through the action of the Holy Spirit working through women and men. President emeritus Mary McAleese clearly sees herself as part of that…
Pastoral letter seeks to reveal Church’s ‘best kept secret’
A new booklet mapping out the basics of Catholic social teaching is intended to introduce older teenagers to the Church’s tradition of thought around major questions questions facing the world in our time, Down and Connor’s Bishop Noel Treanor has said. ‘Wellspring of Your Future: The Social Teaching of the Church’ has been distributed as…

Greg Daly


Chai Brady

Susan Gately
Mary Kenny
Colm Fitzpatrick
Breda O'Brien
