It’s been ninety-five years since Bill Gribbin was baptised and he is not only living out his Christian mission, as father, grandfather and great grandfather, but as sacristan of St Michael’s The Archangel parish in Belfast. Observing him prepare the altar and the incense for a requiem mass last week, it occurred to me, he…
Then Mark Lenaghan was jailed in the 1980s, he encountered a priest who would lead him back to Christ – and along an amazing path to ordination as a permanent deacon. In the coming weeks, a fresh batch of men will take this path, including five from the Dioceses of Armagh and Dromore. They will…
Divisive, dangerous and provocative – that’s how some in the media described American activist Charlie Kirk, after he was shot dead in Utah just days ago. “The answers he gave were astonishing!” said one Sky TV commentator, who cited his “outlandish” pro-life position and Kirk’s “dislike of abortion” – as if killing a child in…
Decades ago, when British soldiers patrolled staunchly republican areas of Belfast, some received a rather unexpected blessing from a local woman who lived in Ardoyne. Whenever this devout Catholic spotted a soldier lying in an alleyway on patrol, she would open her handbag, and take out a bottle of holy water, along with her most…
Mass had just started when the children were murdered. It is not a sentence one should ever have to read or write. But even where songs have been sung, and the word of God recited in a psalm, bullets can fly from the darkness of those who seek to destroy. And so, evil disrupted worship…
Every August, Knock beckons and my friends and I hit the road for County Mayo and the annual Novena to Our Lady of Knock. The forecast was for sun – a treat as I often joke that even Our Blessed Mother went to Knock in rain. Family day at Knock was a scorcher. When it…
Sr Briege McKenna has urged Catholics to stop criticising priests, warning that negative attitudes are discouraging young men from pursuing vocations and leaving many clergy deeply wounded. The Irish-born nun, now based in Florida, has spent decades ministering to priests worldwide through retreats, healing, and evangelisation. She recently returned to Ireland to lead the 50th…
“I’m packing for Poland,” Sr Briege McKenna tells me down the phone, pronouncing on prayer, priesthood and Pope Leo. The globe-trotting nun, with a gift for healing and evangelisation, recently returned to Ireland for the fiftieth anniversary of Intercession for Priests, a mission founded in Dublin by the late Fr Kevin Scallon to heal and restore…
The Bishop of Down and Connor has spoken of the vulnerability of priests following the brutal attack on Canon John Murray in the sacristy of St Patrick’s Church, Downpatrick. After celebrating mass for the bereaved in the town, where the alleged assailant killed a man before brutally assaulting Canon Murray, Bishop McGuckian called for courage…
Editor’s note Three weeks ago we featured this interview with Fr John Murray by columnist Martina Purdy and want to share it again. Fr Murray is recovering after a brutal attack as he heard confession in Downpatrick. Fr Murray had just retired from his role as PP, was recovering from illness and was preparing to…