The 38th annual Gerard Manley Hopkins International Festival is set to be held from July 24 to July 30 at Newbridge College in Co. Kildare. The festival, dedicated to Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins, celebrates his interest of poetry, painting, music, philosophy and conservation as well as his mentor John Henry Newman. Throughout the week, these…

The community of Glencairn Abbey celebrated the first profession of three novices last Sunday. The solemn monastic profession of Sr Beatrice Brady, at St Mary’s Abbey, Glencairn, Co. Waterford, took place on July 12. Presiding over the ceremony was Dom Michael Ryan, Abbot of Bolton Abbey, Co. Kildare and Dom Augustine McGregor, former Abbot of…

Comments come ahead of meeting with Taoiseach as European Council President Two of Ireland’s most prominent bishops have insisted that human dignity is not something conferred by governments, constitutions or public opinion — but a gift from God that precedes and outlasts any human decision to recognise it. The bishops made the comments ahead of…

Laypeople in ministry groups and parish offices can help combat uncertainty amid summer clerical changes, said Fr Padraig Walsh to The Irish Catholic shortly after the Diocese of Kerry announced diocesan appointments to take effect on July 15. Fr Walsh, who will leave the Parish of Our Lady and St Brendan’s Tralee to become Parish…

The Matt Talbot Prayer Society in Derry Diocese has released a new spiritual initiative to support families affected by addiction during their monthly Mass in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry. They distributed 200 ‘Spiritual Protection Packs’, each containing an icon of Jesus, an icon of Mary, a prayer card, and holy water. “There is a lot…

Voluntary children’s care providers are calling for a comprehensive overhaul of Ireland’s care system in a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality on July 9, warning that years of short-term decision-making have left the sector responding to crises rather than planning for the future. CRAVA, which represents Ireland’s voluntary residential care and…

Back-to-back ordinations in the Diocese of Down and Connor have signalled hope for vocations, with nine seminarians now in formation, according to diocesan vocations director Fr Conor McGrath. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr McGrath said the ordination of Fr Thomas Hampton in Downpatrick on Sunday, June 28, followed by the ordination of Fr Esteban…

The 2026 Reek Sunday pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick falls on July 26, with the announced theme being ‘Road Safety’. Fr John Kenny, Administrator of Westport parish, which includes the territory of Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo, made a statement to the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, saying “Accordingly, and on behalf of the Croagh Patrick stakeholders’…

A week-long music pilgrimage marked the centenary of the Pontifical Irish College’s present home in Rome. Titled ‘Centenary in Song’, the celebration combined workshops, prayer, faith formation and liturgies. Eoin McCormack, Director of Lay Formation at the Pontifical Irish College, explained that the week culminated in a gala concert on Friday evening, with 30 liturgical…

Archbishop Dermot Farrell has said there are “legitimate concerns” about the rate of population growth and the impact on housing and essential services, but warned that Ireland has also witnessed the “mobilisation of hatred and rejection” against migrants in its towns and cities. Speaking during Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral, Dublin, for the 14th Sunday…