Staff Reporter Churches in the North were privately offered £100,000 a year by a British government minister if they would work more closely together in the interests of community relations, a declassified file has revealed. A memo from Tony McCusker in the Central Community Relations Unit (CCRU) in January 1991 set out details of a…

EXCLUSIVE There will be just six first year seminarians at the national seminary when classes resume later this month, according to figures obtained by The Irish Catholic. It is thought to be the lowest number on record in Maynooth’s 222 year history. While returns from 25 of the country’s 26 dioceses show that 15 men…

Sr Louise O’Brien, Sr Esther & Sr Elma Hurley (Daughters of Charity, Henrietta Street) with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Fr Bryan Shortall OFM Cap. after a Mass to celebrate the bicentenary of St Michan’s Church, Halston Street which was followed by a street party.

Fr Conor McDonough OP gives the annual blessing of Galway Bay off the Claddagh near Mutton Island lighthouse. Fr McDonough fi rst blessed the boats and all who sail in them at the pier near St Mary’s Church before the fl eet sailed out for the centuries-old tradition of the Blessing of the Bay. Photo:…

Local children dressed as the three children of Fatima, Jacinta (Grace), Lucia (Sarah) and Francisco (Gerard) pray at the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima during its visit to St Nicholas chapel, Ardglass on a tour of Ireland facilitated by Fr Aoilbe O’Reilly, order of the Holy Cross, in association with the World…

Being a Christian is about more than just being nice to people, it means “loving and trusting a God who we cannot see”, according to the Bishop of Derry. In a homily at the weekend reflecting on the messages of Fatima, Bishop Donal McKeown said following Jesus is not just about “doing the right things…

With the national seminary at Maynooth due to re-open for this year’s formation programme this weekend, a key conference organised for the autumn is being seen by observers as a way of helping to show a proactive approach to reform. This summer saw the appointment of Fr Michael Mullaney for a shortened three-year term as…

Ireland’s top theology courses continue to be attractive to students as CAO points drop for the majority of level-8 degrees. Points for Theology and Arts in St Patrick’s College Maynooth remain much the same, rising by just one point to 301 compared to last year. The course allows students to study Theology along with another…

Staff Reporter The fifth annual Ballymena roundtable gathering on faith will this year address the issue of the family in preparation for next year’s WMOF in Dublin. Held annually on a topical issue related to the intersection between faith and family life, the event has emerged as a key local invitative in Church renewal. Due to…

The Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin will welcome its first Romanian priest at the end of this month, who has answered the call from Bishop Denis Nulty to help resolve the problem of the shortage of priests in Ireland. Fr Eugen Dragmos Tamas (28) from the Diocese of Iasi was ordained a priest in June…