Will Heller, a 21-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, is a two-time Junior National Medallist and All American, a state record holder in Ohio and Michigan, and the 2023 University National Champion in the 102 kilogram class in weightlifting. However, the weightlifting phenom now has his sights on a more soul-intensive goal – becoming a Catholic priest.…
Month: August 2024
The desire for truth and beauty in a world led by noise and distraction
Is the world craving the good, the true and the beautiful more than ever? On July 26, more than 200 attendees, including bishops, clergy, religious figures, and laity from all over the country, gathered at the Church of Mary Refuge of Sinners in Rathmines, Dublin. A location designed for a remarkable moment that reignited a…
Why we should read Pascal today
A Summer with Pascal Antoine Compagnon, translated by Catherine Porte (The Belknap Press / Harvard University Press, £19.95 / €23.60) Pensées by Blaise Pascal, translation edited by Pierre Zoberman with an introduction by David Wetsel, with notes by both (Catholic University of America Press, £29.99 / €35.50 Pope Francis published an Apostolic Letter in June 2023…
Sr Briege McKenna begins tour around Ireland
Sr Briege McKenna, OSC, a renowned Catholic author and speaker, has started her tour across Ireland on August 5. Known for her books Miracles Do Happen and The Power of the Sacraments, she will visit Dundalk on August 16 and 17, before concluding her tour at St Patrick’s College in Maynooth on August 23. Born…
Rupnik’s former studio defends disgraced priest’s artwork
As Church leaders and Catholic groups around the world increasingly call for the removal of sacred art created by Fr Marko Rupnik, the art institute founded by the disgraced former Jesuit is punching back, saying Fr Rupnik’s art is being subjected to “cancel culture”. “In the face of growing pressure for the removal of the…
Veteran broadcaster not a fan of Ignatian methods
Speaking on the bank holiday Monday episode of the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, veteran broadcaster Pat Kenny spoke to director Neil Jordan about his memories attending annual retreats held in Manresa House, a Jesuit retreat centre in Dublin, which according to him was a mandatory excursion for the boys attending his secondary school. The…
Irish city life and the lack of religion
Dublin from 1970 to 1990: The city transformed by Joseph Brady (Four Court Press, review of Joe Brady, €24.95 / £18.50) This new book by Joseph Brady marks the conclusion of a series devoted to the development of Dublin city, or perhaps we might say the Dublin region, since circa 900 AD, Joseph Brady is a…
Turkey’s Erdogan calls Pope, urges joint opposition to Olympic ‘immoral displays’
Letter from Rome Last week Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a phone call to Pope Francis in which he urged a collective condemnation of what he said was the “ridicule” of moral and religious values at the Olympic opening ceremony. News of the call was published in an August 1 statement published on the…
Is every Sunday a wasted opportunity?
It’s not every day that The New York Times runs a story about Catholics and Eucharistic Adoration. Yet the National Eucharistic Congress held in July in Indianapolis caught the attention of the Gray Lady and many others. The five-day gathering in Lucas Oil Stadium, years in the planning with a $14 million budget, attracted 50,000…
100 years of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary
The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, founded in March 1924 in Killeshandra, Co. Cavan celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Centenary of their foundation on August 3 in the Cathedral in Cavan. Having just completed their 16th General Chapter, all the delegates to the chapter who came from different parts of the world were…


Renata Milán Morales



Brandon Scott
Peter Costello


