Pat O’Kelly Following the première of Don Carlos at the Paris Opéra in March 1867, Verdi returned to his farm at Sant’ Agata in the Po valley. He found peace on the land he loved and where he planted trees, cultivated vines and bred his horses. Maybe he would now retire! He had often…
Vatican opens doors to Russian ‘spiritual’ masterpieces for show In an example of the “diplomacy of art”, the Vatican has inaugurated a landmark exhibit of “spiritual” masterpieces from Moscow’s famed Tretyakov Gallery and other Russian state galleries. Some of the pieces, particularly a number of precious icons, have never been shown before outside of their home galleries, Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican…
Choo choo! With the Christmas holidays fast-approaching, how does a magical train ride through a festive forest sound? On offer from December 1–9, is ‘The Christmas Express’ at Laois’ Stradbally Woodlands Railway – the first volunteer-run heritage railway in Ireland, having been established in 1969. The whole family will get the chance to embark on…
The Notebook Fr Conor McDonough The choir of King’s College, Cambridge is often associated with the Christmas season. For many of my English friends, the sound of Carols from King’s on the BBC on Christmas Eve is the sign that Christmas has well and truly begun. But I associate them above all with…
Hannah Brockhaus People need the mercy of God and the healing of the Holy Spirit to root out the sin in their lives – they cannot do it on their own, Pope Francis said at the general audience today. “It is useless to think of being able to correct oneself without the gift of…
One of Ireland’s most popular singers has launched a charity single for the Christmas market after making a 20,000km round-trip to record it. Multi-award winning Tommy Fleming travelled to Rwanda to record ‘Give A Little Bit’ – the 1977 hit by Supertramp – with local teenagers in support of Irish aid agency Bóthar’s Christmas appeal.…
Following Monday’s shock announcement that the Vatican has requested the US Catholic Bishops to delay voting on new standards for bishop accountability, survivors of sexual abuse and bishop accountability activists decried the move as “totally unacceptable”. Terence McKiernan, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, called the move a “pre-emptive strike” by the Vatican against US bishops as they…
Politicians must act to assist workers as technology continues to transform jobs across Europe, said a committee of the European Union bishops’ commission. Work is sustainable only “if it does not harm or destroy the livelihood of others and if it uses generously and equitably the gifts of creation”, said the social affairs commission of…
Michael Sainsbury Although China and the Vatican signed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops in September, persecution of Chinese Catholics continues. Some believe there is considerable pushback against the Vatican-China deal from inside China’s United Front Work Department, the Communist Party-controlled religious bureaucracy, especially at a more localised level. “Many officials at…
The Wrong Country: Essays on Modern Irish Writing by Gerald Dawe (Irish Academic Press, €22.95) Derek Hand Gerald Dawe’s collection of essays offers a very engaging assessment of Irish writing in the last 100 years. His survey of the scene, filtered through the lens of his being a lecturer and poet, brings enthusiasm to the task,…