Ara Coeli
Cathedral Road
ARMAGH BT61 7QY
Tel (028) 3752 2045
Email: [email protected]
Administrative Staff:
Mrs Caroline Hicks
[email protected]
Mrs Donna Gray
[email protected]
Mrs Kathy Lennon
[email protected]
Diocesan Levies and the Parish – An Information Booklet for Parishes is Released
Diocesan Levies and the Parish
The Parish is a living community of believers. It is the place where most Catholics first hear the Gospel message, grow in faith, and are nourished by God’s grace in the sacraments. The Archdiocese of Armagh acknowledges with gratitude the work of all clergy, religious, and lay faithful who strive to make our parishes true centres of evangelisation and hope.
The Parish is also an integral part of the wider Armagh diocesan family. The 61 parishes of the Archdiocese increasingly work together and avail of essential support in the form of services and resources offered by diocesan agencies and offices. As the People of God, we are also called to invest in the future and, in particular, to encourage and sustain vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Ongoing formation of clergy and laity is another important aspect in the task of fulfilling the Church’s mission entrusted to her by Christ.
This booklet briefly explains how two diocesan funds—the Central Diocesan Fund and the Education Fund—serve to advance much of this vital work. It also sets out how parishes continue to generously contribute to this shared diocesan mission through a reformed levy system. I hope you find the details informative and helpful in understanding the indispensable bond that exists between the parishes and the Archdiocese.
Click Here or the Image below to access the booklet:
St. Patrick’s Day 2025 – Archbishop Eamon’s Homily from New York
St. Patrick’s Day 2025 – Archbishop Eamon’s Homily Preached at St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York
Credit: St. Patrick’s Cathedral New York, Footage Via YouTube Stream
Archbishop Eamon’s Homily
St Patrick was a pilgrim of hope and in this Jubilee year of Hope I’m honoured to be with you In New York as a pilgrim of hope and bring you greetings from Armagh, the home of St Patrick. Thank you, Cardinal Dolan for your kind invitation and warm welcome. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go leir.
We know from his own writings that Patrick was trafficked into slavery in Ireland as a young teenager, but despite his isolation and the pain of loneliness, so far from his home and family, Patrick turned with all his heart to God, and dared to hope.
Much later in his life, as a priest and bishop, he heard the “voice of the Irish” calling him and Patrick had the courage to return to the land of his captivity, this time as a missionary to spread the Good News to the people of Ireland and a message of hope and trust in the Lord. No doubt he was inspired by those words in today’s Gospel reading: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch” and again, “Follow me; do not be afraid; for from now on it is men that you will be catching”.
When I was ordained a priest I chose for my ordination card a verse from psalm 31: “Be strong let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:24).”
And I have been privileged during my years as a priest and a bishop to witness hope in the lives of many people – including people who “dare to hope” even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Friends nowadays there seem to be so many reasons to give up on hope – the terrible wars, violence and injustices that seem intractable; the shocking disregard for human dignity and vulnerable life; the almost relentless advance of climate change.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose all hope. And yet sadly we live in a world where too many people feel overwhelmed by the pressures and worries of everyday and are tempted to despair. But as people of God we can never allow ourselves, or the world, to stop daring to hope. That phrase, to ‘dare to hope’ comes from chapter 3 of the Old Testament book of Lamentations:
“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; … therefore, I will hope in Him!’”
That’s the kind of hope that kept St Patrick going in his captivity; that’s the Hope which sustained the faith of our fathers in Ireland in spite of persecution, famine and forced displacement. That’s the Hope which sustained the Irish who came here as immigrants in famine times with little more than the clothes on their backs, but were inspired to dream, to pull themselves up, and to help build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
The Christian Hope which we celebrate during this Jubilee year is much more than human optimism. It is a Hope forged in adversity which confronts the difficulties of this life with eyes fixed on the Risen Lord.
I’ve been thinking today about those who built the two beautiful Cathedrals of St Patrick, here in New York, and back home in Armagh. Both Cathedrals were constructed in tough times largely from the pennies of the Irish, at home and in the diaspora. The two cathedrals were opened in the 1870s, just six years apart; and interestingly, both have twin spires, reaching to the skies, daring to ‘hope against Hope’ and pointing to our shared heavenly homeland.
Our patron St Patrick was indeed a pilgrim of hope who felt strengthened and protected by God in good times and bad, even when insulted and imprisoned. He tells us himself that he simply couldn’t be silent about the great blessings and gifts so kindly bestowed on him in the land his captivity. He had a deep conviction that he was called to be a witness to faith, hope and love, to spread the name of God ‘faithfully and without fear’ – Patrick believed that the work of a missionary was a ‘holy and wonderful work’, something for which he was prepared to willingly give up his life.
No doubt our ancient ancestors would have spoken about Patrick in words like those of the prophet Isaiah in todays first reading:
“How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news and announces salvation”. Isaiah 52:7
I’ve been thinking a lot about peace during my pilgrimage of hope this last few days. On Friday I travelled to Capitol Hill in Washington DC to reflect with my good friend the Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell about the unfinished work of peace and reconciliation in Ireland. Many of the young adults who were attending our talk had little or no memory or knowledge of the violence and conflict that had happened in the island of Ireland. I thanked God for the fact that the beautiful island of Saint Patrick is no longer making the headlines because of death and destruction on our streets.
One young man took me aside afterwards and said “Archbishop, we need to speak more than ever about peace and reconciliation and fraternity, because the world seems to be getting more fragile and fragmented. There’s more talk now about rearmament among nations than about the needs of the hungry and the common good”. I sensed in his words a yearning for Hope.
Yesterday when I visited the Ground Zero 9/11 memorial with a group of young people from St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook in County Armagh. One of the young girls asked me, “Archbishop could this happen again?” And I said, you and I must have hope in God and work and pray for peace to make sure that it never does.
Friends, as sons and daughters of Saint Patrick, somewhere deep inside all of us, the voice of God is challenging us to be pilgrims of hope in this troubled world. I pray this St Patrick’s Day day that every one of us here will have the courage and strength:
to be fearless ambassadors of Hope and charity; energetic peacemakers; compassionate carers for the sick and the lonely; faithful stewards of God’s creation; generous helpers of the poor and the marginalised, and welcoming friends for those who, like Patrick and so many of our Irish ancestors, are forcibly displaced from their homeland.
Guím beannacht ár bPatrúin Naomh Pádraig oraibh uilig, inniu agus i gcónaí.
Amen.
+ Archbishop Eamon Martin
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland
Archbishop Eamon Martin’s Message for St. Patrick’s Day 2025
Archbishop Eamon Martin’s Message for St. Patrick’s Day 2025
“Peace, reconciliation and hope are central to the message of St Patrick for us all in this Jubilee Year”
Archbishop Eamon’s Message
I’m sending my Saint Patrick’s Day message for the Jubilee year 2025 from Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York where I have travelled on a “pilgrimage of hope”. Our patron, Saint Patrick, lived his life as a “pilgrim of hope”. Despite being trafficked into slavery in Ireland as a young teenager, with all the pain, loneliness and isolation that brought, Patrick dared to hope in God. Later in life he heard the “voice of the Irish” calling him back to the land of his captivity, and he answered by returning to our shores as a missionary disciple of hope in the Risen Lord.
During my pilgrimage for hope here in New York I’ve met hundreds of Irish-American families, including many in the parish community of Saint Barnabas in the Bronx. The people who came here in the 1800s not only constructed railroads and bridges, but they also built a strongly connected community which remains proud to this day of its strong Irish links. Yesterday I prayed at the Irish hunger memorial, a famine-time cottage which has been shipped over from Mayo to Manhattan and reconstructed brick by brick within sight of Ellis island. It is a poignant reminder of the countless Irish people who left their homeland during that awful time. Although many left with little more than the clothes on their backs, still, in their hearts, they carried the priceless treasures of faith and hope.
The hope they carried was much more than human optimism. It was a hope forged in adversity and rooted in the same strong faith which centuries beforehand had inspired St Patrick to keep going, trusting in God.
Their Hope was not just a feeling. It was Christian Hope, which is a way of living, being and acting that looks beyond personal challenges, trusting in God. Christian Hope confronts the difficulties of this life with belief in the resurrection and with eyes fixed on eternal life in our heavenly homeland. Hope is a challenge to action for peace, justice and solidarity with others who are struggling, especially the poor and the marginalised.
No wonder so many Irish people, and their descendants, helped to build the great city of New York, as leaders in their parishes and communities, in business, education, healthcare, law and emergency services. All ten of the Archbishops of New York since 1850 where either born in Ireland, or had Irish parents or grandparents. A very moving and prayerful moment in my pilgrimage of hope has been my visit with young people Dromore St Paul’s High School,Bessbrook, to the “Ground Zero” 9/11 memorial. I was also deeply moved to pray at the station of New York City Fire Department Rescue 3 remembering the many firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11, including many who were Irish-American.
The theme of peace has been forefront in my mind during this pilgrimage of hope and I was honoured to be given a tour of the Disarmament exhibition at the United Nations building. I also travelled to the Capitol Hill building in Washington DC to reflect on the unfinished work of peace and reconciliation in Ireland with my good friend Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh.
As sons and daughters of Saint Patrick, somewhere deep inside all of us, the voice of God challenges us to be pilgrims of hope in this troubled world. Like St Patrick we are to make a difference: to be fearless ambassadors of Hope and charity; energetic peacemakers; compassionate carers for the sick and the lonely; faithful stewards of God’s creation; generous helpers of the poor and the marginalised, and welcoming friends for those who, like Patrick and so many of our Irish ancestors, are forcibly displaced from their homeland. Peace, reconciliation and hope are central to the message of St Patrick for us all in this Jubilee Year.
Guím idirghuí Naomh Pádraig ar ár lucht imirce scaite ar fud na cruinne. Ba dheoraí Naomh Pádraig é féin tráth. Tuigeann sé ar n’uaigneas agus ar m’briseadh chroí. Guím beannacht, ráth agus séan ár bPatrúin oraibh uilig, inniu agus i gcónaí.
+ Archbishop Eamon Martin
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland
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Job Vacancy (Sacristan) – St. Peter’s Parish Drogheda
ST PETER’S PARISH, DROGHEDA
wishes to appoint a SACRISTAN (permanent part-time)
Duties and responsibilities include the smooth running of Our Lady of Lourdes Church at all times and assistance at liturgical events as required.
The position will be 13 hours per week (Saturday and Sunday).
The successful candidate must be trustworthy, reliable and have good organisation skills. It is also important that they are able to work using their own initiative, as well as part of a team. Ideally, they will have related previous experience although this is not essential as all necessary training will be provided.
A full job description and application form shall be provided upon request to The Secretary, St Peter’s Parish, 9 Fair St, Drogheda, Co. Louth, A92 T6WY. T 041 983 8537. (please leave a message). Email [email protected]
The closing date for submission of completed applications is 12.00 noon on Monday, 24 March, 2025.
This post is subject to vetting. Applicants will be required to provide evidence that they have the right to work in the Republic of Ireland.
The Parish of St Peter, Drogheda is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Lenten Resources for Parishes, Schools and Families
Lenten Resources
As we begin our journey through the season of Lent, we are invited to reflect, pray, and renew our hearts in preparation for Easter. To support this time of spiritual reflection and growth, the Archdiocesan pastoral team has developed a set of resources designed for parishes, schools, and families. The resources centres on the Gospel reading from Ash Wednesday and the five Sunday’s of Lent, providing practical suggestions for how parishes, families and schools can engage in Lenten reflection that deepens faith through prayer, reflection, and action.
What’s Included in the Lent Resource?
The Lenten Resource’s includes materials that have been tailored for different audiences, ensuring that all members of our faith community here in the Archdiocese of Armagh can participate in meaningful ways.
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For Parishes:
- Guided reflections and prayers for use in liturgies and parish groups.
- Weekly themes based on the Gospel readings of Lent.
- Practical suggestions for Lenten outreach and almsgiving.
- Ideas for communal prayer and Stations of the Cross.
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For Schools:
- Age-appropriate reflections for primary and secondary students.
- Activities that help young people connect Lenten themes to their daily lives.
- Scripture reflections encouraging students to grow in faith and kindness.
- Creative projects to express the message of Lent through art and storytelling.
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For Families:
- Simple reflections to use at home.
- Ideas for family-based acts of kindness and charity.
- Practical suggestions for fasting and almsgiving as a family.
- Discussion prompts to help children understand the meaning of Lent.
How to Use These Resources
- Parishes can incorporate reflections into homilies, small faith-sharing groups, and Lenten devotions.
- Schools can use activities and prayer services in classrooms and assemblies.
- Families can gather for simple prayers at mealtimes or bedtime, using the provided reflections to guide their conversations.
We encourage all to use these resources to make Lent a time of deeper faith, prayer, and action. Together, as a community, we can prepare our hearts to celebrate the joy of Easter.
Click Here to download the resources.
Reflection Videos for Lent
Click Here to access video reflections
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Begin with a moment of quiet prayer
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Watch one of the videos
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Reflect on the following questions:
- What struck me about what was said in the video?
2. What does the message of the video mean for my life?
3. What action is the video calling me to?
Death of Rt Rev Mgr Raymond Murray, PE
The death has taken place on Tuesday, 25 February 2025, of Mgr Raymond Murray, PE
May he rest in peace.
Archbishop Eamon extends his sympathy and that of Cardinal Seán, Bishop Michael, the clergy and people of the Archdiocese to Mgr Murray’s extended family and friends.
Reception of Remains and Midday Prayer at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, Wednesday, 26 February at 12 noon and lying in repose until 5.00pm;
Lying in repose on Thursday, 1.00pm – 9.00pm;
Evening Prayer on Thursday at 7.00pm;
Requiem Mass on Friday, 28 February at 12 noon, followed by burial in St Patrick’s Cemetery;
Funeral Mass can be viewed at https://www.armaghparish.net/webcams/cathedral-webcam/
Rt Rev Mgr Raymond Murray
Born: 5 September 1938, Parish of Lower Creggan
Studied
Townsend Public Elementary School |
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The Abbey Christian Brothers Primary School, Newry |
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Christian Brothers Secondary School, Newry |
1949-52 |
St Patrick’s College, Armagh |
1952-55 |
St Patrick’s College, Maynooth |
1955-62 |
Ordained: 17 June 1962, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth
Appointments
On Loan to Diocese of Down & Connor |
1962-63 |
Assistant, Clonoe |
1963-64 |
Assistant, Lower Killeavy |
1964-65 |
Chaplain, Good Shepherd Convent, Newry |
1964-65 |
Curate, Monasterboice |
1965-67 |
Curate, Armagh |
1967-86 |
Administrator, Armagh |
1986-93 |
Sabbatical, Germany & Rome |
1993-94 |
Curate, Keady & Derrynoose |
1994-95 |
Parish Priest, Moneymore |
1995-96 |
Parish Priest, Cookstown |
1996-07 |
Pastor Emeritus |
2007-25 |
Appointed a Prelate of Honour (Monsignor) in1995
Date of Death: 25 February 2025, Collegelands Nursing Home
Confirmation List 2025
Click the following link to view the 2025 Confirmation dates for the Archdiocese of Armagh:
Confirmation List 2025
Click the following link to view the 2025 Confirmation dates for the Archdiocese of Armagh:
Unbound Ireland – Hope Restored: Freedom in Christ Conference
Unbound Ireland – Hope Restored: Freedom in Christ Conference
Join for a powerful weekend of hope, restoration, and freedom in Christ!
📅 Date: Saturday, 26 April – Sunday, 27 April 2025
📍 Location: Benburb Priory, Co. Tyrone
👥 Ages 18+
Experience renewal and healing in Benburb Priory, where faith, healing, and freedom come alive. Deepen your journey with Christ and embrace the fullness of His love!
Register now! Limited spaces available.
