Schools and families can enjoy an Advent calendar for children, Advent teaching resources for schools and homes, and enter a Christmas-themed colouring competition.
The Catholic bookseller will focus on online sales, which were up 52 per cent this year.
“The effects of poverty don’t stop just because it’s Christmas – they endure throughout the year.”
An opportunity to “reflect on the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland last August when he invited us to welcome Christ in the bits and pieces, the ordinary moments of everyday life” – Archbishop Eamon Martin.
There are 70,000 more Irish children living in poverty than there were in 2008 and more than one in ten of our children experience persistent poverty.
Gives voice to international project which aims to put Christ back in the centre of Christmas.
“Courageous and decisive plans and sufficient funding to overcome the suffering and the deprivation of those who live on the precarious margins of society” is needed, Archbishop stresses.
“May beloved Syria at last recover respect for the dignity of every person through a shared commitment to rebuild the fabric of society, without regard for ethnic and religious membership.”
The Icon card includes the official WMOF2018 prayer and is designed so that it can be set up on the mantelpiece and used throughout the year or used as the prayer before the family sits down to Christmas dinner this year
A key part of the event is that guests are given a spiritual and a festive welcome.
“Christmas asks of us that we turn from singing carols to raising our voices to ensure the voices of the vulnerable are heard and their needs recognised” - Archbishop Michael Jackson.
The annual Black Santa Sit Out, which raises up to €50,000 for charity, was launched on Wednesday by Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Put Christ to the centre of our Christmas preparations during this special liturgical season
“It is great joy to the faithful, who often had to go to work or school and who will now be able to celebrate Christmas in full.” - Archbishop of Lviv
“Irish society cannot and must not accept that living in, or on the verge of, poverty is normal - SVP
“There are only two days in the year when the pubs close, the other one being Christmas Day. In time will they open on that day too?"
This 1000th heifer adds to an already strong ‘Irish herd’ now in Rwanda. The herd is multiplying every year as Bóthar returns with artificial-insemination straws from Ireland to put the cows back in calf.
“Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never be repeated. In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to ‘zero tolerance’” – Pope Francis.
Prefect of the Vatican’s new Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has said he believes Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland will change some of the negativity here towards the Catholic Church.
Many are searching for real hope in the face of an economic crisis, in the face of loneliness and emptiness and the illusion of drugs or empty consumerism.
One thread common to all three Christmas messages is an appeal by the Bishop to take greater care on the roads.
Liam Casey, President of the SVP East Region, described the donation as “an imaginative yet practical way to help many families in need.”
“We can all be guilty of getting caught up in the build-up to Christmas as we reunite with friends and family, but it is important to remember that many older people have no friends or family to reunite with” – Sean Moynihan, CEO, ALONE.
When we light the Christmas tree in Áras an Uachtaráin, we remember the bereaved who are finding this Christmas difficult; we remember those on the edge, the marginalised in our society, our homeless people, and those who are worried about keeping a roof over their families’ heads.
Each day of Advent amounts to a period of time which allows us to journey and reflect on the joy of the Gospel.
€41,400, the largest amount in the Dublin appeal’s 15 year history, collected in the days running up to Christmas.
Parishes raised €63,625 to help the victims of last April and May’s devastating earthquakes which killed over 9,000 people and left countless others homeless.
Fr Dhiya Azziz is believed to have been abducted on his way back to his parish for Christmas after a brief visit to his family in Turkey.
The donated 'unwanted' gifts will ensure that people who are struggling with life will get a small token of cheer next Christmas.
A ‘Mercy’ Christmas challenges us to ask whether we have done enough to make peace, to help relieve poverty, hunger, homelessness and the plight of refugees.
