Three names are to the fore in clerical circles to take up one of the most senior positions in the Church in Ireland. Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam turned 75 in April and therefore under Church rules was obliged to tender his resignation to Pope Francis. The papal nuncio Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo is now…
An art display in Togher honouring Cork’s “unofficial patron saint” Little Nellie of Holy God serves to “remind us of our baptismal calling”, parishioners were told at the unveiling. Fr Ben Hodnett of Togher parish asked artist John Doolan to create 11 pictures of Little Nellie to celebrate the anniversary of her 118th birthday. He…
Ireland’s ambassador to the US has opened up about the role of Catholic education in his formation and his gratitude to the “great men” who taught him in the Christian Brothers’ school in Waterford. Ambassador Dan Mulhall was speaking at the Milwaukee Irish Festival addressing the question of the role of the Church in Irish…
The Faithful are called by both faith and science to take the climate crisis seriously, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said in a new pastoral letter issued on the climate crisis. Our lifestyles and economies that support them are contributing to climate change, Archbishop Farrell warned. “God now calls us, individually and collectively, to…
Irish-American Cardinal Raymond Burke has taken to social media to express his thanks to God, the healthcare professionals, and all those who cared for him spiritually during his time in ICU following a serious bout of Covid-19. The cardinal posted an open letter on his Twitter page, in which he thanked God, the doctors and…
Brandon Scott The Diocese of Waterford and Lismore is mourning the loss of one of its foremost priests, Msgr Michael Olden, who died on Monday. The 86-year-old cleric had recently celebrated the sixty-first anniversary of his ordination from St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Appointed to the staff of the national seminary in 1966 just after Vatican…
Calls for help with school costs are up 10% compared to previous years, the charity reported, as they are receiving almost 300 calls a day from worried parents. The Society of St Vincent de Paul called on the Government to “to prioritise investment in measures to address educational disadvantage” in a statement August 26. Marcella…
Some 170 Irish pilgrims departed from Cork Airport yesterday (Wednesday) on board a specially-chartered plane organised by Marian Pilgrimages for Medjugorje. It marks one of the first post-coronavirus organised pilgrimages to the Bosnian town where local children first reported apparitions of the Mother of God in 1981. It has been a popular destination with Irish…
The greatest threat to Catholic education is a “lack of identity from within”, the bishop of Derry said in his address to schools for the new school year. “Unless we have some idea of what we stand for, we have nothing to communicate that justifies us being a separate sector,” Bishop Donal McKeown said, August…
Fr Daniel Swartz, chaplain to the US Marines, has safely left Afghanistan amid increasing Taliban control in the state following a period in which he provided pastoral services to Catholic Marines deployed in the country. Fr Swartz’s departure coincides with the US’ formal withdrawal of all troops from the country and the evacuation of Afghanistan’s…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones