Archbishop Farrell at opening of Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The opening service in Dublin for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, organised by the Dublin Council of Churches, took place in St Thomas Indian Orthodox Church in Palmerstown on Sunday evening, January 18, and was attended by Archbishop Dermot Farrell.

Those in attendance included Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of the United Kingdom and Ireland, who preached; Archbishop Michael Jackson; and clergy and representatives from the affiliated churches of the Dublin Council of Churches.

“We are asked to live the promise of hope beyond the Jubilee”

The Jubilee Year of Hope came to a close today, the Feast of the Epiphany, after a year of spiritual renewal across the Church. To mark its end, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St Peter’s Basilica and closed the basilica’s Holy Door.

Archbishop Dermot Farrell today said: “All of us baptised are asked to live the promise of hope beyond the Jubilee. While this Jubilee Year is now concluding, we might encourage each other so that the hope that this year of grace has celebrated, will continue to deepen in our hearts and in our communities. In Christ who is Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end, we find our hope.”

Archbishop: Peace is an active, life-giving gift rooted in God’s will

On Thursday, January 1, Archbishop Farrell celebrated Mass for World Day of Peace at Newtownpark Avenue Church in Dublin. Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor and Archbishop Emeritus Diarmuid Martin were among the concelebrants. The Mass was attended by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Ministers of State, members of the diplomatic corps, deputy commissioners of An Garda Síochána, the Order of Malta, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights of St Columbanus. In his homily, Archbishop Farrell reflected on peace as an active, life-giving gift rooted in God’s will, grounded in Scripture and fulfilled through hope rather than the mere absence of conflict.

Archbishop at Christmas: Receive Christ, surprising gift of the living God

At Christmas Eve Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral, Dublin, Archbishop Dermot Farrell described Christ as God’s surprising gift, emphasising that Christmas calls people to an active reception of a faith that transforms lives. Archbishop Farrell said: “Christ is the surprising gift of the living God. Like all gifts, the gift of Christ needs to be received. If the gift of Christ remains unwelcomed – unopened, as it were – then Christmas remains much less than what God is offering us.”

Archbishop Farrell also pointed to the shepherds as symbols of those overlooked by society – and noted that the Good News is first given to the unseen and the marginalised.

St Mary’s designated as Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese

During Mass for the bicentenary celebrations on November 14, Archbishop Dermot Farrell announced that St Mary’s has been designated the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese by Pope Leo XIV.

Archbishop Farrell said: “It is with great joy that I am pleased to announce that the Holy Father, Pope Leo, has consented to my request and has approved by decree that St Mary’s be designated as the Cathedral Church of our Archdiocese. It is appropriate that this announcement should be made in the context of our celebration of the exemplary service which St Mary’s has given to our diocese over 200 years.”

Declaration of Cardinal Newman as Doctor of the Church marked at UCD

On November 1, Pope Leo XIV declared St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. At an event marking Pope Leo’s declaration, as well as the opening of the university 171 years ago on November 3, 1854, UCD President Orla Feely said: “With Pope Leo XIV having conferred the title of Doctor of the Church on St John Henry Newman, we are particularly proud of his role in education and his many writings, including The Idea of a University, which resonates strongly today.”

Letters from St John Henry Newman to the Archbishop of Dublin, from the Dublin Diocesan Archives, were on display.