‘There will be a next chapter for the Irish Church’ – Primate Striking a hopeful note this Christmas, the Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, has said the Church in Ireland has a future, pointing to the growing involvement of committed lay people and young people as a source of hope, while acknowledging the…
As 2025 draws to a close, it is tempting to summarise the year the way the world’s gatekeepers do: by counting victories, tracking markets, naming winners and losers, tallying territory gained and lost. It has been, in that sense, a year of headlines and hard edges—a year in which many people feel the ground shifting…
For many Ukrainians living in Ireland, this Christmas will mark the fourth spent far from their homeland, as Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to cast a long shadow over family life, faith, and tradition. Despite the sorrow, Ukrainian communities across Ireland are marking the feast, holding fast to faith, tradition and prayer. In Sligo, parishioners…
Across Ireland those working in ministry with young people a reporting signs of renewed openness to faith. Thomas Starkie of NET Ireland says the past year has revealed a deep hunger among young adults for prayer and belonging. Reflecting on his time on mission, he described how modest beginnings grew into genuine communities of faith.…
An Irish religious leadership body has called for the immediate release of children and teachers abducted from a Catholic school in Niger State, Nigeria. The Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI) said it fully supports efforts to secure the safe return of those kidnapped from St Mary’s Catholic School in the…
Anti-Semitism is on the rise. It is hard to believe that within living memory of the Holocaust this should be happening, but it is. The latest and most extreme example in a Western country in the last few years took place on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, shortly before Christmas, when 15 Jewish people were…
The fruits of the Year of Hope in the diocese of Meath are an increase in Mass attendance in many parishes, consistent numbers at Adoration and continued engagement in parishes according to its Bishop Tom Deenihan. “I hope that the fruits of the Year of Hope will continue. There is an increase in numbers attending…
Archbishop Eamon Martin has said that the Church in Ireland is being called to a deeper, parish-rooted model of marriage preparation and support—one that sees marriage not as an isolated event but as a lifelong journey of faith. His comments come as bishops and Accord, the Catholic marriage care service, continue to reflect on how…
Sixty years after its publication, Nostra Aetate remains one of the most significant documents of the Second Vatican Council, with enduring relevance in a world marked by religious diversity, Bishop Brendan Leahy has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, he described the 1965 declaration as “an extremely important document… a tremendously important document” despite its…
As Christmas is celebrated across the country, the priests from Ireland’s major pilgrimage sites are encouraging people to slow down, make space for God, and rediscover the quiet heart of the season amid its festivities. Fr Richard Gibbons PP of Knock Shrine acknowledged that Christmas can be a difficult time for many families. “This time…
David Quinn