Trip to Romania confirmed for summer The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will travel to Romania to the cities of Bucharest, Iaşi and Blaj, and to a Marian shrine in eastern Transylvania, from May 31 to June 2 and will include a stop at a Marian shrine located in the Șumuleu Ciuc neighbourhood of the city of Miercurea Ciuc,…
Dear Editor, As you and your readers will be aware the Holy Father Pope Francis has called the presidents of bishops’ conference to Rome to discuss the vital issue of safeguarding at a meeting from February 21-24. As we are all too painfully aware in Ireland, this is an issue that has profound consequences for…
Pat O’Kelly While pianist Finghin Collins pursues a busy international career he also finds time to act as artistic director of both the late September New Ross Piano Festival and Music for Galway. The latter spreads itself across ‘the season’ and enshrines a Midwinter Festival in January. Although Collins’ brainchild, his Galway committee actively…
Getting in the zone For Boyzone fanatics this will be a dream come true as the boyband celebrates 25 years as a group, and releases what they say will be their final album, ‘Thank You and Goodnight’. The four remaining members – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – have come a long…
The View Martin Mansergh While some Christmas carols emphasise the coldness of the season ‘in the bleak mid-winter’, others emphasise the mildness of the infant Jesus. It is difficult to remember 12 days of Christmas that have been so mild and in most parts mainly dry. The first snowdrops were out even before…
Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has moved to quash rumours that he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis in 2015, five years before he would have been expected to do so. The Irish Times reported last week: “It is said that Archbishop Martin’s letter of resignation was submitted to Rome in 2015 when he reached the…
With planning beginning this month to build a path along the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage to counteract extensive erosion along the trail, a local priest has said it will “enhance” the experience. The Croagh Patrick Stake-holders Group, established in 2015, have already built a 20-metre path in a trial run and have begun an evaluation process…
Letter from Rome Elise Harris With 2019 already off to a running start, Vatican-watchers can expect a packed year of surprises, updates and new twists and turns. The to-do list includes the papal reform agenda, the clerical abuse crisis, international travel and possible new appointments to key dioceses and curial offices. This spring alone will…
Well-known pop singer and actress Kaya Jones has revealed why she is so openly pro-life and said that we need to “expose the truth” about how damaging abortion can be. Writing on Twitter, the former Pussycat Doll said that she is one of many women who feel “ashamed” to speak publicly on this issue but…
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission (CENI) has accused the country’s Catholic Church of “preparing an insurrection” after it said it knew who had won the country’s presidential elections and called on the authorities to publish the true results. Fr Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the DRC’s bishops’ conference (CENCO), said on January 3 that…