Religious sisters have provided “inspirational” insight into the “power of faith in Ireland” to a group of young women who completed a tour of Irish convents last week. The Rise of the Roses, a new movement aimed to support and inspire young women as they explore and discern their vocations in life, ended a 10-convent…

Sharing the joy of their faith and making lifelong friends are the two most common reasons young people give for coming back to the Youth 2000 Summer Festival each year. Free buses from all corners of the island brought over 1,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 35 to the Cistercian College in…

The required entry points for studying theology at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth have soared this year. Points for students applying for the Baccalaureate in Theology (BTh) through the CAO rose 100 points to 425 this year from 325 in 2014. Acknowledging that although the points surge may not signify an increase in demand for the…

The papal nuncio to Ireland has said that young Irish Catholics need “to have the courage to be different” and rebel against a society that “is distancing itself from God”. Speaking at the closing Mass of the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Roscrea on Sunday, Archbishop Charles Brown told the over 1,000 young people that…

Fr Robert McCabe pictured with boat crew, refectory, reception, kitchen and laundry staff near the Bell Tower at St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg following their staff Mass in memory of Fr Ragheed Ganni – murdered by Islamic extremists continue to suffer because of their faith.

Children’s Minister James Reilly knew of controversial cuts in funding for Catholic marriage preparation courses four months in advance, according to reports. The scraping of €378,000 in funding to Accord was announced in May during the same-sex marriage referendum campaign.  However, according to The Sunday Business Post, the minister was briefed about the cuts days…

A prominent Belfast priest has said that internment, which is commemorated by marches in the North this month, effectively marked the end of British rule in Northern Ireland because it facilitated torture. Internment was a British army operation in the North in August 1971, when 342 Catholics suspected of being involved with the IRA were…

A senior Presentation nun has defended the order’s decision to spend €10 million on a state of the art visitor centre in Cork to honour their founder, the Venerable Nano Nagle. Sr Bride Given said the order had “difficulty” deciding whether to invest the money in the tourist centre or to donate the cash to…