According to the Vatican’s Central Office of Church Statistics, the global Catholic population has grown from 1.39 billion to 1.4 billion. However, priest shortages persist in Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, despite vocational growth in Africa and Asia. Against this backdrop, Fr Willie Purcell, head of the National Vocations Office in Ireland, has observed increased…
St Margaret’s Parish Hall in Finglas, which was purchased by Fingal County Council in 2023 and renovated, will reopen at the end of April as a community centre. The parish hall had been in the centre of the community life for decades and when plans of selling the hall were announced in 2022, the community…
Radio Maria Ireland appointed a new Priest Director this week. Fr Des Farren MSC is joining the Catholic radio station as it reaches its tenth anniversary. Fr Farren’s new role is to ensure the charism and identity of the radio station are upheld, evangelise and serve as the spiritual and institutional leader for both staff…
Tánaiste Simon Harris has come to attention of Andrew Tate of all people. You might not be familiar with who Andrew Tate is, so let me explain. He is a ‘social media influencer’ with millions of followers, overwhelmingly teenage boys and young men. He promotes an extremely aggressive form of masculinity that basically tells his…
An original drawing of the Fatima Window by Evie Hone, Irish artist considered an early pioneer of cubism, has recently been discovered by the Mercy sisters in Co. Cavan. The local parish community was delighted to welcome this original piece of work and accept it back to the parish. It is expected to be on display…
This Lent season, a new animated film will retell the life of Jesus Christ. The King of Kings, featuring an all-star cast including Pierce Brosnan (Pontius Pilate), a Drogheda man, Kenneth Branagh (Charles Dickens), from Belfast, Oscar Isaac, Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Ben Kingsley, and Forest Whitaker, the film offers a new perspective on the biggest…
Louise Rosingrave Athlone came to a standstill on St Patrick’s eve, for a public reaffirming of faith in the from of a Eucharistic Procession. More than 1,000 Catholics travelled from all four corners of the country to accompany Our Lord Jesus Christ through the streets. The Procession, which follows similar events in Dublin last…
It was the summer of 2014 when I first heard the harmony. It was so flawless, I thought it must have been a recording. In fact it was the sweet sound of seminarians from St Bonaventure’s, a Francisan college, in Lusaka, Zambia, located next to the orphanage, where I was volunteering. At the time, St…
Seán Óg Ó hAilpín’s life has been anything but ordinary. Born in Rotuma, some 600km off the coast of Fiji, with a native mother and his father hailing from Fermanagh, he moved to Ireland as a child and carved out a legendary hurling career. Neither Fiji or Fermanagh a hurling stronghold as the old saying…
A new animated film, The King of Kings, will be in cinemas on April 11. The project tells the story of the life of Jesus through the eyes of a child as his father narrates it. The film is based on an untold story by Charles Dickens, written in 1849. His retelling of Christ’s life,…
Renata Steffens
David Quinn
Renata Milán Morales
Martina Purdy