The over arching symbol of St Valentine’s Day is, without doubt, the heart. This heart is the symbol of love. It’s red, full and vibrant; filled with life, joy and expectation. The Carmelite Friars in Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin are keepers of the heart of St Valentine. Each year engaged couples from all over Ireland,…
The theme of this year’s Catholic Schools Week is ‘Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience’. Schools have been under so much pressure over the last twelve months and this shows little sign of letting up anytime soon. Faith and resilience are two key qualities that can help us in difficult times. This week let…
We offer our congratulations to the Friars in the Capuchin Custody of Korea who recently elected a new leadership team. Pictured are (L to R) Brothers Cosmos, Pat and Stephano. Brother Stephano Kim was elected as Custos, Brother Pat as First Councillor and Brother Cosmos as Second Councillor. We wish our brothers every blessing as…
The 1st of January is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. What better way to start the New Year! St Francis of Assist had a deep devotion to Mary. Her courage in responding positively to God’s invitation to be the mother of God encouraged and inspired him to respond positively to what God was…
On behalf of the Capuchin Franciscans, I want to congratulate Bishop Dermot Farrell who takes over from Diarmuid Martin as Archbishop of Dublin. Bishop Dermot was ordained Bishop of Ossory in 2018 and has shown great leadership and pastoral care to the priests and laity in Ossory Diocese during these last two years. He has…
We wish each of you every blessing this Christmas. This has been a difficult year for so many and we hold you in our prayer as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the joy of this event remain always in our hearts. We also want to share with you some short…
A Wexford teenager, Molly Meaghan-Tresson, who busks every Christmas to raise money for Charity has this year released a single – Last Christmas – in aid of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People. The story was covered by RTE News (1o December 2020). Sincere thanks to Molly for her generosity and to all who will purchase…
Our Provincial Archivist, Dr Brian Kirby, writes to announce the online availability of an electronic catalogue for the collection of Capuchin Papers relating to the Irish Revolution. See: https://catholicarchives.ie/index.php/irish-capuchin-archives-6 The catalogue is fully searchable, allowing for cross-referencing and browsing by users. Over one hundred digital images of original documents, photographs and artefacts from the…
On the 4th of October Pope Francis published ‘Fratelli Tutti’. Much has been said and written about this already. The first four paragraphs provide a glimpse into Pope Francis’ understanding of what the essence of St Francis of Assisi was and is. St Francis was a man dedicated to creating connections with all so that…