The Complete Francis of Assisi: His Life, The Complete Writings, and The Little Flowers, by Paul Sabatier and others (Paraclete Press, €38.50) Currently the remains of St Francis of Assisi are on display in the Italian hilltop town where he died on October 3, 1226, some 800 years ago. They are on view until March…
The number of asylum applications in the European Union fell significantly last year. In Germany, which remains the country with the most asylum applications, the number fell by a third to 163,000. The main reason for this was fewer applications from Syrians: after the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024, they…
Kings, Druids and Traitors: Once Upon a Time in Ireland, by William Collins, (Doon Press, from Amazon.ie, €15.27 pb / €24.88 hb, ebook is €4.35) This is a darkly glowing saga, akin to the medieval dramas now so well-known from film and television in The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. The author…
The General Secretariat of the Synod has published the Final Report of Study Group No. 5, examining women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Church. “When speaking about the role of women in the life of the Church, we must be aware that it is first and foremost a matter of cultural order,”…
We celebrate the feast of St Patrick this year, conscious of the approaching centenary of his arrival in Ireland. Although we don’t know for certain the precise year of Patrick’s arrival and knowing that he certainly wasn’t the first Christian in Ireland, the date of 432 will be forever associated with the arrival of the…
The US and Israel launched joint military strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran, prompting the regime to retaliate with drone and missile attacks on Israel, American bases and assets, Gulf state airports and energy infrastructure, and other targets. As both sides continue to exchange firepower, Catholic theologians who spoke with EWTN News are cautioning…
“I thirst” is the shortest phrase of the Lord’s last words (Jn 19:28). Short though it may be, it contains unsearchable depths. The Lord was telling of his physical thirst on a first and properly literal level. The physical thirst of the Lord was no trivial detail in the Passion story but was foretold in…
February 2026 marked 52 years since the establishment of the Preda Foundation, a charitable organisation aimed at helping children in conflict with the law, street children, children at risk, and child abuse victims/survivors. We should never underestimate the desire and determination of children to fight for their rights and demand justice. Today in the Philippines,…
All eyes will be on Killarney native Jessica Buckley this weekend to see if she can nab a Best Actress Oscar for her heartbreaking turn as William Shakespeare’s wife mourning their lost son in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. If she does, it will be the first time an Irish woman has received the accolade. Brendan Fricker…
Sadly, the new war in the Middle East continued, worsened and widened last week. In fact, it was something of a hellscape when I woke up last Monday morning. On It Says in the Papers (RTE Radio 1) there was talk of rocketing fuel prices, “apocalyptic scenes”, “fireballs” and “rivers of fire”, as middle-east oil…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan