I once laughed like the biblical Sarah after reading a letter from a Christian woman I had never met. She wrote to tell me about a vivid dream she had experienced, revealing that I would visit the Holy Land. At the time, I was living in a fairly strict convent in Belfast and saw no…
St Anthony of Padua is one of the most beloved saints of the Church whose feast day is celebrated each year on June 13. He is often confused with his namesake, St Anthony of the Desert, whose feast day we celebrate this Saturday, January 17. This earlier Anthony is considered to be the father of…
We’ve come to canonise uncertainty and to be suspicious of certainty, says Fr Chris Hayden “We take every thought captive, and bring it to obedience to Christ.” So writes St Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians (10:5). What we think, the set of ideas we hold, is not a matter of indifference.…
After the recent seizure of Venezuelan president Nicolas Muduro and his wife, Cilia, by US Special Forces from their supposedly secure hiding place, Donald Trump spoke in his own typically idiosyncratic way about international law. The bottom line? He doesn’t really believe in it. As soon as the capture happened, experts and political leaders rightly…
Doctor of the Church: An Introduction to Saint John Henry Newman, by Michael Rear, preface by His Majesty King Charles III (Gracewing, £12.99 / €15.00) On the feast of All Saints, November 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV conferred the title of Doctor of the Church on St John Henry Newman, thus ranking him with…
A Nigerian bishop urged intensified military action to “eliminate” bandits and their hideouts in the Kainji Game Reserve amid reports of the killing of 50 people between Christmas and New Year’s and traumatizing of children recently abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri. Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora recounted multiple attacks on both Christians…
Meeting with Parish Priest Fr James O’Reilly in Duneane’s delightful parochial house, Co. Antrim, was a joy. Like the historic house itself, the parish is solidly rooted in Catholic tradition yet alive with the ever-moving breath of the Holy Spirit. There is a dynamism about Duneane’s sense of mission and ministry that is infectiously inspiring.…
* Isaiah 49:3,5-6 – *1 Corinthians 1:1-3 – * John 1:29-34 The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, leads us along almost the same path as the previous Sunday. Once again, we return to the River Jordan and to the event of Jesus’ baptism. This time, however, we are no longer direct witnesses of the…
The Education Nation podcast launches on Monday, January 18 when the first episode drops to coincide with Catholic Schools week. We have lined up a host of fascinating guests who have intriguing stories to tell about their own career journeys and their role within the education system. As we hear their stories, we hope that…
During his long stay in Milan, Augustine entered that phase in life when, in ancient Rome, men focused on their careers and other pursuits before starting a family. In Book VI, Augustine laments: “here I was in my thirtieth year sticking fast in the same muddy bog.” Books VII-IX recount the three years that followed.…
Martina Purdy
David Quinn
Peter Costello
Fr Dominik Domagala