The Society of St Vincent de Paul expects to help 140,000 people in need over the Christmas season, it has revealed. As it undertakes its annual appeal for donations, the society said that despite signs of recovery in areas of the economy, calls to its offices nationwide were still at recession levels and set to…
Category: News
Celebrating St Barbara
People pray on the feast of St Barbara, December 4 at St Barbara Church in Havana, Cuba. Barbara was an early Christian Greek martyr, whose relics lie today in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: CNS
An Post rises will affect elderly more
John Reid Age Action has sharply criticised the State’s intention to repeal the postal price cap “without consultation or discussion”. Spokesman Justin Moran said: “The price has already increased twice in the last two years and many older people, who prefer to send letters and cards rather than emails, will be disappointed to hear another…
Syriac patriarch ‘horrified’ after seeing ‘ghost towns’
Doreen Abi Raad The Syriac Catholic patriarch said he was horrified to see widespread devastation and what he called “ghost towns” during a recent visit to northern Iraq. Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan wrote in an email to Catholic News Service that there was little left in some of the communities that he toured November …
Capuchins back down from suggestions of 1916 surrender letter theft
Ireland’s Capuchins have backed down from intimations that a 1916 surrender letter by Patrick Pearse, put forward for sale by auction this week, was improperly removed from the order’s archives. The letter, described by Adams Auctioneers as “the most significant Irish document to be offered for sale”, directed Cmdt Edward Daly, leading the Volunteers’ First…
Clonard Mercy Tent ‘a great success’ with Christmas shoppers
The ‘Mercy Tent’ initiative held by priests and volunteers from Clonard Monastery in Belfast has been hailed “a great success” following high demand and positive feedback from visitors. Entering the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping at the Kennedy Shopping Centre, Clonard set up its tent for two days, November 18 and 19, inviting shoppers…
Hoping for ‘Cuba Libre’
Cuban expatriates hoping for a new chapter of freedoms in their country celebrate the death of Fidel Castro in Little Havana, a neighbourhood of Miami, November 26. Castro, who seized power in a 1959 revolution and governed Cuba until 2006, died November 25 at the age of 90. Photo: CNS
Taoiseach’s audience with Pope described as ‘cordial’
Staff reporter While much of the commentary around the Taoiseach’s meeting with Pope Francis on Monday has focused on plans for the Pontiff’s trip to Ireland, discussions were much more wide-ranging – according to the Vatican. Mr Kenny met with the Pope on Monday for 27 minutes in the Pope’s library in the Apostolic Palace.…
Armagh to host ‘Bambinelli blessing’
St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh will be the setting for a special ‘Bambinelli Sunday’ this month. Adopting a tradition from Italy in which people bring the Baby Jesus figure, their Bambinelli – from their homes to receive a blessing from the Pope on the Third Sunday in Advent, the Armagh diocese is inviting people to…
Fidel Castro, the communist leader who received three Popes
Inés san Martín Fidel Castro, Cuba’s communist leader who died on November 25 at the age of 90, was by far the most dominant figure in Cuba’s one-party state which he ruled with an iron fist for almost five decades before handing over the powers to his brother Raúl in 2008. A hero to the left across the…