For the first time Lough Derg will hold a special day dedicated to supporting those who are living with suicide and for those involved in ministry and support services.   The ‘Living with Suicide’ day offers those affected, either directly or indirectly, the opportunity for deeper understanding and support to make sense of it all.…

A national celebration of Charismatic Renewal will be held on Sunday, September 29 from 2.30pm finishing with Mass at 6.30pm in the Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough St, Dublin with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin as the principal celebrant.   Organisers hope the event will serve as a reunion and gathering for people who have been involved in Charismatic Renewal,…

A group of Derry pilgrims have celebrated the Year of Faith with a pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland, to celebrate the 1450th anniversary of St Columba’s departure from their home city.   Led by Fr Roland Colhoun and Fr Paddy O’Kane, the pilgrims retraced St Columba’s footsteps on the island he had made his home for…

Since 2007 the Sixmilebridge/Kilmurry Parish Area have been hosting gatherings in each corner of the parish for friends and neighbours to meet and celebrate the Eucharist.  Each house in the parish got a special invitation to become part of the initiative and the gatherings are held during the summer months beginning on May Eve each…

Syria Day of prayer  The September 7 day of prayer for peace in Syria, called by Pope Francis, was matched by the Sunni Muslim community in the war-torn country. Ahead of the worldwide event, the Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassou, publicly welcomed the Pope’s appeal as “good and for the good of humanity”…

Pope to visit Assisi Pope Francis will visit Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis this October 4, the saintís feast day. Following a meeting with ill and disabled children, the Pontiff follows a busy itinerary, moving to pray at the shrine of San Damiano and afterwards paying a visit to the Basilica of St Francis…

Pope Francis hosted a key meeting with the heads of all Vatican departments on Tuesday in anticipation of expected Vatican reforms.   A committee of senior cardinals – who the Pope has picked to advise him on reform of the Church’s central governance – is due to meet in Rome early next month. The so-called…

The fight between religious rights and gay rights that started at state ballot boxes and in courtrooms has moved to floral shops, bakeries and photo studios.   As churches are concerned about the potential of facing lawsuits, some are changing their bylaws to explicitly reflect their views on traditional man-woman marriage.   A bakery in…

As the war of words around a proposed strike against Syria raged last week, the war on the country’s Christians continued.   On September 4, word emerged from the country of the targeting of the predominantly Christian village of Maalula, an ancient enclave where some of the population still speak Aramaic and where a number…

The slaughter of the Syrian people has been ongoing for two years now. Over 100,000 are dead, 4.2 million have fled their homes, and 2 million are refugees in neighbouring countries.   As shocking as those statistics are, behind each of those figures is a real person. When I was in Lebanon recently, I met…