Those who had wondered what miracle prompted the canonisations last weekend of Ss Jacinta and Francisco had their questions answered ahead of Pope Francis’ arrival in Fatima. Speaking at a press conference at the shrine, the Brazilian parents João Batista and his wife Lucila Yurie described the miraculous healing of their son after a terrible…

Stephen Bullivant Stephen Bullivant considers how the Fatima visions sought to speak to the modern world Sunday, May 13 1917 would prove an auspicious day, both for the Catholic Church, and for the whole tumultuous course of the 20th Century. In the Sistine Chapel, Pope Benedict XV consecrated Eugenio Pacelli as archbishop, prior to sending…

Stephen Buttivant My first visit to Fatima was on a whim. In September 2005, my dad and I had walked 200 miles across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. With a few days to kill before our flight from Madrid, a quick coach trip down to Lisbon sounded like fun. And seeing as how we’d…

The finances of Dublin archdiocese have never been so transparent, writes Greg Daly On the face of it, comparing this year’s financial reports from the Archdiocese of Dublin with its Share Newsletters of previous years is a case of comparing apples and oranges. Previous practice in the archdiocese entailed the publication, typically in April, of…

Mags Gargan examines the continuing popularity of parish missions Parish missions were a common feature in the Irish Church up until about the 1960s and for many the idea of a mission brings up the old stereotypical image of a judgmental, hellfire preacher. However, parish missions today are a gentler, communal affair and while they…

Ahead of his historic beatification ceremony, Mags Gargan looks at the life of Fr John Sullivan Ireland will host its first ever beatification ceremony this weekend, when Fr John Sullivan SJ will be named Blessed on May 13. (Up until the papacy of Benedict XVI beatifications tended to take place in Rome and the Pope…

It’s been just over a year since the US-based Hilton Foundation announced it was awarding a grant of $290,000 (€268,000) to Vocations Ireland, and Margaret Cartwright, director of the organisation, has had her hands full in the meantime. Explaining that the umbrella group that supports vocations directors from Ireland’s religious congregations has just received the…

Bishop Phonsie Cullinan tells Greg Daly about the new National Vocations Office Ireland has lagged behind other countries in the promotion of priestly vocations for several years, according to Waterford and Lismore’s Bishop Phonsie Cullinan, chairman of the Irish bishops’ Council for Vocations, but that’s set to change this month with the establishment of the…

Eugene Duffy should we take the sacraments out of the schools? asks Eugene Duffy The role of religion and the time allocated to it in the primary school curriculum continues to be a point of controversy in many quarters. At the Government level, the Minister, Mr Richard Bruton, continues the approach of his predecessors in attempting to…

Brendan O’Reilly The process of admitting new Catholics to the Church is centred on forming disciples writes Brendan O’Reilly Infant baptism in the Church has been practised since apostolic times and prior to 1972 if an adult sought baptism the ritual used was the Rite of Infant Baptism. Such adult baptisms were often celebrated privately,…