To mark his name day, the feast of St George, Pope Francis gave the gift of medical supplies to several countries reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. The Pope, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, donated respirators, masks and protective eyewear on the April 23 feast of his namesake, St George. Five new respirators will be…
Priests tell of ‘heart-breaking’ Covid-19 ministry A Co. Kildare-based priest has spoken of the moving and humbling experience of helping to bring peace and consolation to patients suffering from coronavirus through the grace of the Sacrament of the Sick. Fr Seán Maher described ministering to patients isolated from their loved ones as visiting “the wounded…
A Belfast-based priest has decried the “despicable” actions of fraudsters trying to con vulnerable people out of their money by pretending to collect parish envelopes. This comes after the Diocese of Down and Connor reported that certain “unscrupulous individuals” were offering to take weekly parish envelopes – which currently aren’t being collected. Fr Paddy McCafferty…
Prof. Des O’Neill, a consultant geriatrician at Tallaght University Hospital in Dublin has claimed that what is playing out now in nursing homes with Covid-19 is the failure by successive minister for health to prioritise care for older citizens. He insists that blame for the failure to prevent the catastrophic spread of the virus in…
A 103-year-old nun has become the oldest person in Ireland to contract and survive the coronavirus. Sr Martha Hickey, an Infant Jesus sister, got the deadly virus over three weeks ago and, against the odds, has made a miraculous recovery. The centenarian, who has devoted over 80 years of her life to the Church, first…
World Youth Day and the World Meeting of Families have been postponed for one year at the request of Pope Francis, according to the Vatican. World Youth Day, which was scheduled to be hosted in Lisbon, Portugal in August 2022 will now take place in August 2023. The World Meeting of Families, which was previously…
A new poll has revealed that 27% of Irish people say they have watched or listened to at least one religious service during the current period of lockdown. The same poll found that 18% of people reported that they are praying more than they usually would. The research – carried out by Amarach on behalf…
The leaders of Ireland’s main Christian traditions have commended those working on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic for “their work, courage and compassion”. They also encouraged those taking part in the evening appreciation of healthcare workers to pray for them when the applause has ended and people go back into their homes. Archbishop Eamon…
A US priest has become the first clergyman in the country to have amended a previously declared diocesan ban on public Masses since the coronavirus outbreak. Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces, New Mexico has lifted a diocesan ban on the public celebration of Mass, issued guidelines for distribution of Holy Communion, and told priests…
Every generation is prone to blindness to injustices, the Bishop of Derry has warned. In his homily for Divine Mercy Sunday in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Dr Donal McKeown warned that “there is a widespread narrative that the past was full of outrageous mistakes and that we must consign those attitudes to the dustbin of history.…
Chai Brady