National Concert Hall, Dublin. Rachel Beard
The National Charismatic Renewal Conference will be held from June 25-26 in the Concert Hall, RDS, Dublin. Speakers at the event include Dr Mary Healy, the Chairperson of the Doctrinal Commission of International Catholic Renewal Services in Rome and Rev. Jonathan Frazer, minister in the Garnerville Parish in East Belfast, while Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown will celebrate Masses on the Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Many believe that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) was a direct answer to a prayer of Pope John XXIII to the Holy Spirit in 1961, although CCR started in February 1967 at a retreat for college students in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The students’ prayers that weekend were answered with a powerful and transforming experience of God that came to be known as ‘baptism in the Spirit’.
CCR has since expanded into more than 200 countries and reached over 120 million Catholics.