“The present situation of the shortage of vocations, the age profile of the priests and the stress associated with such realities needs serious reflection,” said Bishop Nulty.

Church is endeavouring “to respond positively and constructively to genuine voices calling for a greater recognition of women and the feminine in the Church”.

“We in Ireland are not at all used to the humility demanded by the fact that we might have something to receive," IMU president Sr Kathleen McGarvey OLA.

Many churches and missionary societies offer the faithful an opportunity to remember their deceased loved ones on the 'altar list of the dead' in November.

Lived experience and struggle of spouses can help find more effective ways of expressing fundamental elements of Church teaching Archbishop Martin tells Synod.

Those interested in religious life looking for strong sense of community, prayer, Eucharist and a clear identity in the order.

Crisis in religious life is not an "antechamber of death" but an opportunity to grow in depth and hope.