Fr Damien Quigley was ordained in Holy Redeemeer Church, Dundalk on Sunday 26th June. The new priest was ordained by Archbishop Eamon Martin. Fr Damien is the son of Thomas and Pacella Qugley from Holy Redeemer Parish, Dundalk and he is the youngest of a family of four. He’s a past pupil of Redeemer Boys’ Primary School and Colaiste Ris Secondary School in Dundalk. After leaving school, he studied at Dundalk Regional College and later in Queens University, Belfast. In 1998, he joined Tesco Ireland and he worked there until entering St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 2010. He was ordained deacon for the Archdiocese of Armagh last year and he has ministered as a deacon for the past year in the parish of Magherafelt, Co Derry.
Many priests from across the Archdiocese of Armagh were present at the Ordination ceremony last Sunday as well as many of the new priests classmates from his years in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Cardinal Sean Brady was also in attendance for the special celebration. We wish Fr Damien many long and fruitful years in his priestly ministry.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral Parish is pleased to announce that it has been successful in being awarded a substantial roof repair grant from the Listed Places of Worship Fund, supported by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport/National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The grant will be used to address urgent roof repairs to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the near future.  On being granted the award Rev. Peter McAnenly, Adminstrator of St. Patrick’s Cathedral Parish said

“ This is wonderful news for our Cathedral and I am very grateful to the awarding body to receive this news.  The money will be well spent as we seek to address essential repairs at this time”.

On Monday evening, many people gathered in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh for a time of prayer, to remember those affected by the recent massacre in Orlando, Florida. The Prayer Vigil was led by Archbishop Eamon Martin and during the service, people had an opportunity to sign A Book of Condolences, to express their solidarity and support for the people of Orlando. People travelled from many parishes for the special service and Mr Gareth Keating, Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council was also in attendance. People may continue to sing the Book of Condolences in the Cathedral over the coming days.

Pictures taken at a special evening of conversation on vocations in the Archdiocese of Armagh. The evening which took place in the Synod Hall was facilitated by Mrs Dympna Mallon.

Pictures taken on wednesday at the launch of St Josephs young priests new promotional materials in Portadown. Well done to Eva Sousa who designed the new logo & also Courtney Castles who was runner up in the competition!

Bishop William Crean, Bishop of Cloyne, today ordained nine seminarians as deacons in the College Chapel of the national seminary in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth.  Bishop Crean was the chief celebrant and preached the homily, and all of the priests of the College community concelebrated this 11.30am Ordination Mass.  Family, friends and other priests also participated in this special celebration.  The following are the ordinands from today’s diaconate ceremony (respective diocese in brackets):

Michael Byrne (Dublin)

William Caulfield (Ferns)

Aidan Gallagher (Tuam)

Sean Jones (Kerry)

Declan Lohan (Galway)

John Magner (Cloyne)

Barry Matthews (Armagh)

Evan O’Brien (Cork & Ross)

David Vard (Kildare & Leighlin)

Following the Mass, Monsignor Hugh Connolly, the President of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, said, “It is with great joy that we celebrate the ordination of nine men to the diaconate today – and especially so on the Feast of Corpus Christi.  May these nine men now go forth to build up the ‘Body of Christ’ which is his Church.  On behalf of all of us here in the formation and learning community which is Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth, I congratulate our nine ordinands and wish them every happiness and blessing in their forthcoming diaconal ministry.  May each of them experience God’s grace anew in their lives so that they will courageously proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, and go out to serve the people of God in their various dioceses and religious congregations with care and compassion.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

·         The diaconate is the first of three ranks in ordained ministry in the Catholic Church.  It is a ministry of service which is referenced in the New Testament.  Whilst there is only one diaconate, deacons preparing for the priesthood are transitional deacons.  Those not to be ordained priests are called permanent deacons.  The nine men ordained in Maynooth today are all transitional deacons who will exercise the diaconal ministry for approximately one year before being ordained to the priesthood.

·         At present there are 55 resident seminarians studying in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and there are an additional twenty who attend on a daily basis to pursue their studies for the priesthood.  Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth has been forming men for the priesthood since 1795.  The Trustees of the College are the Governing Body of the College.  The membership is defined by successive Acts of Parliament.  The current Trustees are the four Archbishops of Ireland together with thirteen other senior bishops.  The College comprises the seminary and the Pontifical University, which offers degrees in theology, philosophy and theology and arts.

Archbishop Eamon Martin welcomed the announcement in the Vatican today that Pope Francis has chosen The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World as the theme for the ninth World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Dublin on 22 – 26 August 2018.

Archbishop Eamon said, “Personally, and on behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, I wish to thank Pope Francis for his inspiring choice of theme for the 9th World Meeting of Families in Dublin.  The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World, clearly draws on both Apostolic Exhortations of the Holy Father, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) of November 2013, and Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love, On Love in the Family), published last month in April.”

Archbishop Eamon continued, “After World Youth Day in Krakow this July, the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in 2018 will be the next great global event in the calendar of the Universal Church.  The Catholic Church in Ireland is blessed to have been chosen to host, for the first time, this special faith-filled event for families.

It is my hope that families in every parish in the country will be able to participate in the preparation for the World Meeting, and that many families will take part in the various events being planned for late summer 2018.  The World Meeting provides the perfect context for us to rediscover the vocation and mission of the family in the life of the Church and in Irish society.

“Supporting families is one of the most important aspects of the mission of the Church.  As a priest and bishop I have come to know and admire the wonderful work of many individuals and groups who are involved in family support and ministry here in Ireland.  The World Meeting provides an opportunity to affirm their work and to inspire new initiatives to sustain the family as a source of joy, hope and cohesion in the Church and in society.

Of course, as Pope Francis reminds us often, no family is perfect and every family has its struggles and wounds.  The World Meeting of Families in Dublin will be a success if it helps us to celebrate and support family life whilst encouraging us to reach out in love to families who are overwhelmed by the challenges and pressures of everyday living.

Archbishop Eamon concluded, “Over the next two years, in our preparations for the World Meeting of Families 2018, the Catholic Church across the country has an opportunity to map out and advocate a new Charter and Mission for the family in the context of twenty-first century Ireland.”

ENDS

• Archbishop Eamon Martin is Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland and President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.                                                 

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444

The camp will take place on three separate weeks for 12 – 14 year olds.

The dates are 10 – 14 August (week 1), 14 – 18 August (week 2) &  18 – 22 August (week 23).

This is a joint initiative with Clogher Diocese.

In recent times ADYC and CdÓ (Clogher don Óige) attended a leadership development course at Greenhill Centre, Newcastle. We were totally inspired by the great outdoors and the facilities on offer. The idea for a summer camp was born. The camp will provide opportunities for boys and girls aged 12 –14 to come together, have fun, make friends and to grow in faith. We felt that this was an age group that requires nourishment of their faith through a fun and creative environment.

The Summer Camp enables the young people to participate in workshops, games, outdoor activities and Mass at the YMCA centre in Newcastle County Down. Each day young people participated in faith activities based around the themes of the Parables, Journey and Mary. Twice a day young people took part in prayer and enjoyed outdoor activates, which included bouldering, zip-line, highrope course, lazer tag, archery, nightline and canoeing. Throughout the Camp the young people grew in faith by learning about the Feast of the Assumption, exploring their faith by an open Q & A session with a Priest from our diocese,
organising and participating in vibrant youth-led Masses and singing our famous action songs! Over the few days the young people have seen faith in a different light, one that is enjoyable, cool and something to be proud of.

Click here for the ONLINE BOOKING FORM for 2016

Over the last few months we have ventured across the diocese of Armagh praying with the staff and students of a number of schools. We have made 20 short episodes with one mystery of the rosary per episode.

We hope that you will join us in this month of May as we unite in this powerful prayer to Jesus through Mary.   We hope all schools will join in the Rosary Relay at 12 noon each day.

We pray this month is a time of grace and that the ripple effects of our prayer as a diocese reach further than we ever imagined. Our lady of the most holy rosary, pray for us.

Click here for videos on the Mysteries of the Rosary

Archbishop Eamon Martin on Rosary Relay

Introduction

Trailer