Delegates at a recent congress in Rome for Vocations Directors have learned that there is a slow but gradual rise in the number of young people entering into religious life across Europe. However, Pope Francis who addressed the meeting, warned participants not to avoid using the word ‘vocation’, noting that …
Pope Francis is recommending that people leave behind all sorts of useless baggage to rediscover what really matters in life. He also advises people to avoid “empty chatter”. The Pope expressed his reflections as he celebrated New Year’s Day Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His advice also included …
Catholic Schools Week is an annual all-Ireland celebration which invites schools nationwide to give expression in an exceptional way to the ethos of Catholic education. This year’s theme, ‘Catholic schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for our common home’ has been informed by the writing of Pope Francis in …
Eleven-year-old Tony Foley has appealed for people to attend Mass for eight Sundays to Christmas in honour of his father and to remember both the famed player and other deceased family and friends. The initiative launched by the son of Munster legend Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley to get people back to Mass …
Pope Francis has a prodigious, and deeply admirable, work ethic, but an article in Irish Catholic newspaper questions why the pope might want to consider following the Italian lead for ferragosto and taking a break in mid-August. Generally speaking, Rome goes into near-total hibernation around the month of August; the …
In a recent article published by the Irish Examiner, Margaret Hickey explains how Pope Francis cannot be accused of not leading the way by example. With scuffed black shoes and a second-hand car he models the frugality he extols. If more celebrities followed his example, frugality could be cool as …
In his first published book as Pope, The Name of God Is Mercy, Pope Francis shares with us his vision and understanding of God’s mercy. In nine chapters which start with ‘The Time of Mercy’ and conclude with ‘How to live the Jubilee well’, we have a road map and …
Pope Francis has cleared the way for Mother Teresa to be made Saint by approving a decree recognising a second miracle attributed to her intercession with God which is a necessary event for such a move in the Catholic church. Mother Teresa’s second miracle involved the inexplicable healing of a …
Papal documents like the recent Laudato Si by Pope Francis aren’t usually the top choice resource for teachers, particularly at primary school level. However, Pope Francis’ recent pronouncement on the environment and our modern lifestyle in his encyclical Laudato Si has proven to be accessible for all ages. This is what …
According to the “Irish Catholic” newspaper, Pope Francis has not changed the criteria under which the Church grants a marriage annulment – the process by which the Church decides that a union between a man and a woman, even if they had a Church wedding, is not a valid marriage …