The Bishops’ Conference has praised the work of parishes in raising €25million for Trócaire, their overseas development agency. From April 2015 to April 2016, the Irish public donated €25 million to the charity, which is a 7% increase over the previous 12 month period. Eamonn Meehan, Executive Director of Trócaire, told The Irish Catholic that…

Staff reporter A senior Vatican official  has said the Church in Ireland has to come to terms with its “new reality” and focus on the “quality” of its seminarians. Archbishop Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong, Secretary for Seminaries at the Congregation for Clergy, said he has “hope” for the future of the priesthood in Ireland. There is…

Staff Reporter A senior member of staff at Maynooth has resigned, reportedly over differences with colleagues about the future direction of the seminary. Fr David Marsden – who as vocational growth counsellor was a key member of staff charged with helping seminarians discern a vocation to the priesthood – is a trained psychologist specialising in priestly…

The centenary of the foundation of Cumann na Sagart was marked by Mass celebrated by Archbishop Eamon Martin in St Joseph’s Oratory in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. The homilist was Bishop Philip Boyce (Raphoe) and music was provided by the parish choir from RathCairn, Contae na Mí. The first meeting of Cumann na Sagart was…

Rachel Beard The National Charismatic Renewal Conference will be held from June 25-26 in the Concert Hall, RDS, Dublin. Speakers at the event include Dr Mary Healy, the Chairperson of the Doctrinal Commission of International Catholic Renewal Services in Rome and Rev. Jonathan Frazer, minister in the Garnerville Parish in East Belfast, while Archbishop Diarmuid Martin…

Jesus Youth is an international Catholic lay movement, with a special focus on a life centred on Jesus. Initiated in Ireland nearly 10 years ago, the Jesus Youth movement has now reached out to many parts of the country including many campuses. Over the years Jesus Youth Ireland has organised numerous retreats, training programmes and…

The remains of John Curry, youngest witness of the apparition at Knock, buried since 1943 in an unmarked grave on New York’s Long Island, are to be exhumed and buried in the cemetery of Manhattan’s St Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Plans for the reinterment, scheduled for next spring, had their seeds in a lunchtime conversation between…

Pope Francis has expressed his “horror and condemnation” about the June 11 attack on a gay nightclub in the United States. The attack at Pulse nightclub, which left 49 people dead and 53 injured, was the biggest mass shooting in US history. The gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was also shot dead by Orlando police. “The…

The section of the Charities Act which protects against the sale of bogus Mass cards can now be enforced following the withdrawal of an appeal to the Supreme Court by a Mass card trader. The Irish Catholic first raised concerns about so-called trafficking in Masses in 2008 when it emerged that many pre-signed Mass cards…