With the release of Christopher Nolan’s new interpretation of The Odyssey (which, at the time of writing, I have yet to see) Homer’s great story has once again captured the public imagination. Anyone who knows me knows of my deep-seated love for Greek mythology. Ever since I was a child, I have been obsessed with…
Major reorganisation will see 56 parishes move into 11 pastoral areas Parish identity must not be lost as dioceses reorganise into larger pastoral areas, the diocesan director of parish development in Kildare and Leighlin has said in reassurance to worried parishioners. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Deacon Roche, diocesan director of parish development in Kildare…
Mayo’s historic All-Ireland triumph showed how people still instinctively turn to God when something deeply important is at stake, according to the rector of Knock Shrine. Fr Richard Gibbons was responding to GAA president Jarlath Burns’s declaration during the trophy presentation: “For 75 years you have prayed to Our Lady of Knock, and today Our…
Young Catholics from across Ireland described Fr Mike Schmitz as a “digital missionary” who has made Scripture more accessible, as more than 1,600 people from across Ireland gathered for his sold-out Parables event at Dublin’s National Stadium. Ahead of the event, St Kevin’s Church on Harrington Street was packed for Mass celebrated by Bishop Fintan…
The deepest spiritual needs of people have not changed despite the transformation of Irish society over the past century, the Prior of Lough Derg has said as St Patrick’s Basilica marks the beginning of its ‘centenary season’. “At the deepest level, people’s spiritual needs do not change,” Fr La Flynn told The Irish Catholic. Recalling…
“I would appeal to lay people not to be clerically minded,” Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan has said, urging Catholics not to believe they must imitate the work of a priest in order to take part in the Church’s mission. “Do not think that you have to mimic what the priest does in order to be effective…
Martin Shaw on myth, maturity and the movement to service From the moment we reach for our phones in the morning, stories compete for our attention: news blurbs, targeted advertisements, television series, political narratives and the curated lives of strangers. Our difficulty today is not that we lack stories. If anything, perhaps for the first…
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Michael Router as the new Bishop of Derry following the retirement of Bishop Donal McKeown. The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Leo had accepted Bishop McKeown’s resignation and transferred Bishop Router from his role as Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh. Bishop McKeown will remain as Apostolic Administrator of the…
Young people are “desperately looking for people who are authentic and religious,” said Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan during the Annual Solemn Novena at Whitefriar Street Church, urging Catholics to become “authentic disciples” by living out their faith in everyday life. Speaking to The Irish Catholic afterwards, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore said many young people…
The Catholic Church is not seeking to advance its own interests within the European Union but to help the bloc remain faithful to the values on which it was founded, COMECE President Bishop Mariano Crociata has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic after meeting Taoiseach Micheál Martin as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council…