The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released its data for marriages 2022, and it makes for very interesting reading for those interested in the faith landscape of modern Ireland. There were 22,555 opposite-sex marriages in total in Ireland in 2022, with 19,672 of these being first-time marriages in the State. The CSO’s official webpage for…
The Irish Catholic Legacy Supplement 2023 – An Enduring Gift Immediate calls for an ambulance by mobile health units reflect the danger of unnoticed high blood pressure, writes Chai Brady Irish people are now living longer than ever before due to advances in medical science and technology as well as better health education, but this…
A new book highlights the surprising ways Jesus shapes our most popular films and books, writes Ruadhán Jones It may seem unlikely, but Jesus and the comic book character Batman do have something in common, and something quite integral too. In order to save the world, both must make sacrifices to overcome ‘the monster’. The…
The legacy of Irish missionaries are women of substance and faith, Ruadhán Jones hears Friday morning, April 28, was one of those rare experiences of unadulterated happiness for the Church in Ireland. In a spirit of festivity and love, the works of Irish missionaries were praised in song by some of the women they had…
Artists have always made use of the latest technology to produce popular images but recent months have put the Pope at the centre of it, hears Jason Osborne Did you see the images circulating social media of the Pope wearing an elegant, white puffer jacket? Were you surprised to see the Holy Father garbed so…
Charles III must manage a ‘balancing act’ to keep up warm relationship with other faiths, Ruadhán Jones hears When Charles III enters Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, he will do so behind a cross that has relics from the true cross embedded in it, a gift from the Pope. Sending the relic was a…
Graphic content of Christian persecution, reader discretion is advised Decapitation, mutilated bodies and gunfire haunt a Nigerian priest now based in Ireland, but adoration always helps, Chai Brady hears Reports of the tens of thousands of Christians killed in Nigeria by Islamist extremists over the last decade do not reflect the true horror faced by…
Madagali: An account of a parish surrounded by terrorists, Chai Brady writes For Fr Innocent Sunu, who was the parish priest of embattled Madagali parish in the Diocese of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria, the attack by the terrorist group Boko Haram on the evening of February 19, 2020 will stay with him more than the…
Cindy Wooden Budapest, Hungary – Paying homage to Hungary’s history, culture and location in the heart of Europe, Pope Francis pushed against the notion that the country needed to insulate itself to protect its identity. As expected, in his first speech in Hungary – to government and civic leaders and diplomats serving in Budapest –…
Prayer helps to recognise the richness of religious life despite modern vices, Chai Brady hears Despite a growing secularist culture in Ireland, religious orders are dedicated to finding and cultivating the vocation of those who feel they are called to a life serving the Church’s mission. The attraction of sex, drugs, and alcohol can be…
Chai Brady