A centenary recreation of Waterford’s historic March of the Black Friars is an opportunity to “re-engage” with the city’s Catholic history rather than simply look back nostalgically, a local historian has said. The procession on August 16 will recall the 1926 march which drew around 5,000 people to mark 700 years since the arrival of…
Knock Shrine is preparing to expand its role as a centre for retreats and faith formation as religious-run retreat houses continue to close across Ireland, its rector has said. Fr Richard Gibbons PP said the shrine is planning decades ahead as it considers how its facilities can respond to the changing needs of the Irish…
A group of young Irish Catholics became the first fully English-speaking group to take part in the Franciscan pilgrimage to the Pardon of Assisi in its 44-year history. Around 20 pilgrims, accompanied by Bro. Ronan Sharpley OFM and another Franciscan friar, walked for three days towards Assisi, covering up to 30km a day in temperatures…
Knock was always part of Fr Richard Gibbons’s life, even before it became his work. Growing up in Mayo, his family came each year – mum, dad, six children and, sometimes, his grandfather – everyone piling into a small minibus. This was the 1970s, when the Basilica itself was newly built. “My memory of it,…
The near-collapse and subsequent recovery of the Irish Dominican Province was not a matter of inevitable cycles but the work of both the miraculous and determined individuals, according to Fr Terence Crotty OP, who has written a history of the Order. Reflecting on the Province’s fortunes, Fr Crotty rejected the idea that decline and revival…
Thousands expected for annual pilgrimage to holy site Not every pilgrim who comes to Knock seeking healing will find it — but that does not mean they leave empty-handed, according to the shrine’s rector. Fr Richard Gibbons PP said that even when the miracle sought is not granted, Knock offers pilgrims something else: the certainty…
The centenary of Cork’s Eucharistic Procession and the growing devotion to St Carlo Acutis in Ardfinnan were highlighted in an RTÉ Nationwide programme broadcast on Wednesday, August 5. The programme looked back at this year’s procession, when more than 5,000 people accompanied the Blessed Sacrament through Cork despite persistent rain. Led by Bishop of Cork…
Catholics who have drifted from the Church will be invited to “come home” during Dublin’s third annual Eucharistic and Marian Procession this month. The procession will leave St Nicholas of Myra Church, Francis Street, at 2.30pm on Sunday, August 16, before concluding with Mass at St Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, at 5pm. Organiser Karen Brady…
A new Dominican theology course aims to deepen Catholics’ understanding of the faith and contribute to renewal in the Irish Church, its organiser has said. Credenda, a beginners’ course starting in September, will combine online sessions with in-person gatherings in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Sligo. Dr Robert McNamara, head of philosophy at St Patrick’s Pontifical…
The Irish Dominicans: 800 Years, 1224–2024 traces a history of preaching and scholarship through centuries of suppression, martyrdom, decline and remarkable revival. Its author, Fr Terence Crotty OP, initially thought the book might take him about two weeks. The 800th anniversary of the Order’s arrival in Ireland was approaching, and it had been suggested that…