A large crowd processed through Wexford town with a statue of Our Lady to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Faithful who gathered December 8 prayed the rosary as the candlelit procession made its way from the Franciscan Friary. The feast, which celebrates Mary’s immaculate birth without the stain of original sin, is…

Chai Brady and Ruadhán Jones Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to Bethlehem to visit the birthplace of Christ to celebrate Christmas for the first time post-Covid after pandemic restrictions meant the holy city was enveloped in silence during the normally festive period. Pilgrims have travelled from all over the world to venerate the spot where…

Ireland’s bishops have offered their sympathy following the killing of an Irish UN peacekeeper in Lebanon last week. On behalf of the Irish bishops’ conference, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin said it was a “tragic event”. It is the first time in more than 20 years an Irish soldier…

Sending Christmas cards is associated with better mental health, especially among Christians, a study from the University of Limerick has shown. The study found that depressed people were less likely to send Christmas cards than non-depressed people. Sending Christmas cards is “more than just the exchange of pleasantries and good wishes over the festive season”,…

Following Pope Francis call to release prisoners on Christmas the Department of Justice said Irish prisons are committed to treating “everyone with dignity and respect”. The Pope asked governments around the world – including Ireland – last week to give prisoners “a gesture of clemency” as communities prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. He…

Churches in the North have been invited to apply for a relief scheme aimed at combatting the energy crisis. The North’s Department for the Economy told The Irish Catholic that churches are eligible for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, along with businesses, voluntary and public sector organisations. “The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is being run…

Pro-life advocate in the UK Heidi Crowter has been listed as one of the BBC’s ‘100 women of 2022’, in what was a big year for the 27-year-old. A woman with Down’s syndrome, Ms Crowter has worked in recent years to challenge England’s abortion law which permits abortion up to 24 weeks, but allows unborn…

Pilgrims are breathing fresh life into the city of Christ’s birth, writes Judith Sudilovsky On the third Sunday of Advent the pews of St Catherine’s Church were overflowing, with families and young children, teenagers and older parishioners attending Mass in anticipation of Christmas. We go out, we go shopping, we have places where we eat…

In the annual Newman Lecture, Prof. William Cavanaugh teased out the religious element at the heart of the West, December 7. Speaking in Newman University Church, St Stephen’s Green, Prof. Cavanagh’s talk focused on ‘the Enchantment of the Secular’. The American professor showed that “religious” and “secular” people have more in common than is commonly…