Catholic education bodies have welcomed the results of the recent Primary School Surveys on divestment and related matters conducted by the Department of Education which found that the majority of parents have a high level of confidence in their Catholic school while 16% of parents are in favour of change. The results were released on…
Ms Susan “Una” McCann has celebrated her 100th birthday, marking a century of life rooted in faith, family and community in west Belfast. Born on March 31, 1926, in Cavendish Street, Ms McCann has lived most of her life within sight of Clonard Monastery, which has remained central to her life of prayer and service.…
Dioceses in Ireland this Easter saw around 80 adults baptised into the faith, representing the final step in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) journey for many. Large groups of catechumens in the Diocese of Cork and Ross, Dioceses of Clonfert and Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, and the Diocese of Achonry and Ephin…
In collaboration with Family Solidarity, Teams of Our Lady and Marriage Encounter, Catholic Mothers Ireland (CMI) will host a Catholic Couples Date Night on April 18 At Armagh City Hotel. The idea for the event “grew out of ongoing conversations about how best to support couples in living out the vocation of marriage in a…
Ireland is increasingly becoming a meeting point of global Catholicism rather than simply a country shaped by its past, a leading theologian has said. Speaking at the Loyola Institute Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Massimo Faggioli argued that the centre of the Catholic Church is shifting away from Europe, with profound implications for Ireland. “Catholicism was…
A group of Irish pilgrims spent seven days in Medjugorje during Holy Week, taking in the ceremonies on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. They arrived back in Dublin on Wednesday morning. Pilgrim James Treacy, a regular visitor to Medjugorje and a tour organiser to Fatima and the Holy Land, said that…
“Divine mercy comforts the afflicted at the same time as afflicting the comfortable,” writes Bishop Donal McKeown. Writing to The Irish Catholic ahead of Divine Mercy Sunday, Bishop McKeown reflected on what it means to live as an Easter people today. “The heart of the early church’s preaching was simple – Christ died for our…
After a promising Easter, the Church faces its most urgent question The priests can breathe now. After the long procession of Holy Week — the oils, the darkness, the fire, the alleluias — Easter Monday brings something like silence. They’ve earned it. The reports filtering in from parishes around the country tell an encouraging…
Over 30 children gathered to present a Passion Play on Good Friday in Our Lady Mother of the Church, Castleknock. Ellen Troy, founder and leader of the Children’s Liturgy Group, said the play “was such a big commitment,” and that the children “have been so good” and deserve “to be praised”. Bosco Thomas Chacko, organiser,…
Attendance particularly high during Holy Week ceremonies and Easter Masses this year, according to parish administrators. Fr Declan Hurley Adm. Navan Parish, Co. Meath, said the attendance in confession during Holy Week “surpassed all expectations.” On Tuesday during Holy Week “we offered Confession in St Mary’s Church all day non-stop,” and the turnout was such…
Renata Steffens