Mark Wahlberg’s heartfelt faith-drama has a genuine Catholic spirit, writes Ruadhán Jones Hollywood loves a redemption story, the down-and-out who scales great heights from nowhere. Think Rocky; think Cool Runnings; and now, think Father Stu (2022, dir. Rosalind Ross). But while the life of a wannabe amateur boxer who goes to Hollywood seems ready to…
Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg opens up on the story behind the priest’s biopic What surprised you the most about Stu’s journey to priesthood? Mark Wahlberg: To say that Stu was rough around the edges is putting it mildly. He was beyond abrasive. People might use other ways and words to describe him, but even in…
Irish charity GOAL is working towards long term solutions as the damage done to Ukraine will echo far into the future, writes Chai Brady Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has continued far longer than many analysts expected, the war is in its third month and currently there is no end in sight. Irish charity GOAL has…
The Sunday Gospel Where is the risen Lord to be met? The liturgy each Sunday in this Easter season directs our thoughts to the various situations where the Lord is present and active in our midst. Over the weeks we have reflected on his presence in the mission of forgiveness, in the faith of those who do…
Maynooth pulled out the stops last week for a timely and engaging conference on the future of Christian thinking. The conference brought together some of the best-known philosophers of religion in the English-speaking world for three intensive days of talks and conversation. Beginning Thursday April 28 and finishing Saturday April 30, the talks included the…
Vocational Supplement We Franciscans are a Fraternity in Mission, inspired by the life of St. Francis to bring the Gospel of Joy and Grace to the world. We devote our lives to the search for God in a fraternal life of prayer, simplicity of life and service to others. At the heart of Francis’ Gospel…
Vocational Supplement She was so inspired by him, this young man from her own town, twelve years older than her. He had been well known for parties, music and singing. Now all he cared about was following Jesus Christ and encouraging everyone else to do likewise! Francis preached with total sincerity and conviction, and Clare…
Vocational Supplement Who are the Capuchins? As Franciscans we are part of a larger family of Catholic friars, sisters and dedicated laypeople founded by St.’s Francis and Clare of Assisi in the 1200’s. The Capuchins came about when in the 1500’s a group of those friars decided to seek a more radical following of the…
Vocational Supplement Ireland’s hostile media landscape can make promoting religious vocations difficult, Chai Brady hears The Church’s long history across the world has been punctuated with tremendous growth and decline, despite these swings and roundabouts there has always been those who felt a calling to enter religious life – even though the numbers sometimes dwindle.…
We can learn a lot from a simple Italian friar, writes Eve Parnell There’s a painting in the National Gallery of Ireland, big, oil on canvas, 17th century, dark colours, easy to walk by and not notice, but one day a little flash caught my eye. I looked at the painting, really looked, for the…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady