A Benemerenti Medal was awarded to the recently retired sacristan of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in Barryroe, Co. Cork. Maura Whelton was awarded by the Pope, but the presentation was made by the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Fintan Gavin. Ms Whelton worked in the church for some 30 years, and…

Excitement is growing across the Diocese of Cloyne ahead of its first priestly ordination in nine years, as Whitechurch native Rev. Tiernan Burke prepares to be ordained to the priesthood on the Feast of Pentecost. The ordination will take place in St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, at 3pm on Sunday, May 24, marking a joyful moment…

Julieann Moran, General Secretary of the Synodal Path of the Catholic Church in Ireland, was a guest speaker at the Katholikentag in Wurzburg, Germany, over the weekend. She told participants that there is still great fear among some that things will change, and among others that they won’t. “But Jesus called on people not to…

A priest’s reaction to the eulogy at a funeral Mass in Ardee, Co. Louth, has been stirring opinions online. The eulogy was being read at a funeral Mass on May 13 in the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady, Ardee/Collon Parish, and was interrupted by the priest, who stood up, saying “that’s enough”, that…

Lough Derg’s Prior has encouraged pilgrims to make space for God as the island’s Three Day Pilgrimage season begins, saying the Lord often speaks to people in ways they do not expect. Fr Laurence ‘La’ Flynn, who marks 50 years of priesthood this July, told The Irish Catholic that the ancient pilgrimage remains a powerful…

St Kevin’s Church, Kilnamanagh will welcome Archbishop Dermot Farrell to the parish on Sunday, May 24 to inaugurate a new shrine containing a historic Roman reliquary, a gift which parish priest Fr Frank Drescher described as “a blessing”. The reliquary holds a relic of the True Cross, and comes from the private collection of a…

Students are turning to theology because it helps them engage with the “big questions” facing the modern world, according to Fr Luke Macnamara OSB, Dean of Theology at St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Macnamara said theology continues to speak deeply to young people at a time of uncertainty. “While…

Launching Laudato Si’ Week 2026 on May 17, Bishop Martin Hayes issued a statement reflecting on the encyclical’s legacy and welcoming the news that Ireland will co-host a conference on the fossil fuel crisis. “Last year the Irish Bishops’ Conference backed Trócaire’s call on the Government of Ireland to support the Fossil Fuel Treaty (Oct…

An annual Mass for organ donors and their families took place on Sunday May 17 in Knock Basilica. The occasion brought together transplant recipients, those awaiting transplants, medical teams, and bereaved families who have donated the organs of their loved ones to mark Organ Donor Awareness Week, which runs until May 23. Claremorris native Nicole…