Youth directors from across the Irish dioceses gathered for a few days of recovery and dialogue, reflecting on the theme ‘Come away and rest a while’ (Mk 6:31), at their annual retreat in Co. Laois earlier this month. Hosted by the Irish Bishops’ Conference’s Sub-Council for Evangelisation and Youth Ministry, the 27 youth directors who…
Taoiseach Micheál Martin met with Pope Leo on May 22 in the Papal Library to discuss both nurturing peace at home and in wars in the Middle East and Sudan and the topic of clerical abuse. Following the 45 minute meeting, Mr Martin told reporters he sensed the pontiff’s “genuine desire for an end to…
In conversation with The Irish Catholic, CEO of the Mater Hospital Foundation Mary Moorhead shared what she hopes the legacy of the charity will be long after her time at the Foundation is over. Drawing on the history of the Mater Hospital, founded in 1861 by the Sisters of Mercy, Ms Moorhead said she hopes…
Pope Leo XIV will address the topic of artificial intelligence in his first universal encyclical, which was signed on Friday, May 15, and will be published on May 25, said the Vatican on Monday. The encyclical, entitled Magnifica humanitas, will discuss the preservation of human dignity in the growing age of AI, an issue that…
St Kevin’s Church, Kilnamanagh will welcome Archbishop Dermot Farrell to the parish on Sunday, May 24 to inaugurate a new shrine containing a historic Roman reliquary, a gift which parish priest Fr Frank Drescher described as “a blessing”. The reliquary holds a relic of the True Cross, and comes from the private collection of a…
Launching Laudato Si’ Week 2026 on May 17, Bishop Martin Hayes issued a statement reflecting on the encyclical’s legacy and welcoming the news that Ireland will co-host a conference on the fossil fuel crisis. “Last year the Irish Bishops’ Conference backed Trócaire’s call on the Government of Ireland to support the Fossil Fuel Treaty (Oct…
In the weeks leading up to Easter, dioceses and media outlets latched onto the high numbers of people set to become fully initiated into the faith in certain places to declare a sort of “Catholic revival,” which, according to one expert, isn’t exactly happening. “For example, I’ve heard how the Archdiocese of Newark has doubled…
On May 12, the French Senate rejected for the second time the assisted suicide bill under debate, with the leader of the conservative party calling for a referendum on the issue to avoid it being approved without the Senate’s approval. The National Assembly – France’s lower house – had already approved the bill twice, but…
President Donald Trump and several top administration officials joined with a cast of mostly conservative Christian clergy on Sunday at the National Mall in Washington for a prayer gathering billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God” upon America’s 250th birthday. Some critics called the Rededicate 250 event an effort to…
On May 13 the Vatican issued a final warning to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics that their planned consecrations of bishops without papal consent constitutes a schismatic act that incurs automatic excommunication. Pope Leo XIV is praying for enlightenment so that the leaders of the Society of St Pius X “may reconsider the extremely…