The reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris happened last Saturday evening, December 7, five years after a fire destroyed part of the building. The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin attended the reopening Mass. Archbishop Martin was invited by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, to represent the bishops…

The Brazilian community in Waterford (Católicos de Waterford) gathered for a Triduum and a procession for Our Lady from December 5-8. The event, a version of the Our Lady Aparecida procession which happens in Dublin annually, brought prayer and hymns to the streets of Waterford. The request for the event, said Scarleth Tavares, one of…

Pope Francis has recently urged priests to keep their homilies short, suggesting a maximum of ten minutes to ensure their message is clear. Speaking during a General Audience, the pontiff said, “After 8 minutes, preaching gets dispersive and no one understands. Never go over 10 minutes, ever! This is very important.” In response, three Irish…

Illiana Ochoa Bravo  The Bishop of Elphin and Apostolic Administrator of Achonry has said he is praying for the safety of the Syrian people and for a peaceful transition of power. Bishop Kevin Doran said on social media that he’s thinking of Johanna Ibrahim, his fellow student at the Irish College in Rome and the…

The performance of Catholic schools in the North, following the appearance of 7 Catholic schools on a recently published list of the 10 best schools in Northern Ireland, has been hailed by the Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown who said that in spite of the negative commentary directed at Catholic schools and Faith-based education “those…

The community of Abbeyside, Co. Waterford, has come together to save the ancient Bell Tower of St Augustine’s Church, which has stood on the edge of Dungarvan Harbour since 1450. Water seeping into the 574-year-old tower threatened its structural integrity, leaving parishioners and parish priest Fr Ned Hassett facing a €70,000 repair bill. Fr Hassett…

Youth 2000 recently celebrated their National Christmas Retreat at the Dominican College, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, with 520 young people aged 18 to 35 attending. The weekend featured workshops by Holy Family Mission, NET Ministries, and Pure in Heart, along with talks on topics like The Creed by Fr Stephen Kennedy. “The women’s vocation workshop was…

An independent major external review has said  that “the Church has a good story to tell about what it has implemented and achieved in relation to the safeguarding of children over the last 20 years…and “it is now regarded by some commentators as an exemplar in the Catholic Church globally”. The review went on to…

Ennis Parish celebrated the centenary of two parishioners last weekend. Mary Cahir was born on December 8, 1924, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Mary Galvin was born on December 6 in the same year. They are both still active Mass goers. Fr Tom Ryan PP said the parish has “quite [a] number of…

The Veritas shop in Letterkenny is set to close its doors this week, bringing an emotional end to an institution that has served the faith community in Donegal for decades. A special Mass of thanksgiving was held to commemorate the shop’s contribution to the Diocese of Raphoe, with former Bishop Philip Boyce paying tribute to…