"[Misuse of devotion] is not religion! It’s superstition," – Fr Stefano Cecchin, President of the Pontifical International Marian Academy.

“At times we are burdened and overwhelmed by the problems of the present moment and lose all sense of perspective, of the fact that we are on a journey,” said Archbishop Neary.

On the fifth anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical letter, Laudato ‘Si, Bishop Mark

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Bishop Leahy will be reciting the Rosary in Mount Saint Alphonsus Church, Limerick, today at 8 p.m., which will stream on novena.ie.

“Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace all your children in distress and pray that God will stretch out his all-powerful hand and free us from this terrible pandemic, so that life can serenely resume its normal course,” prays Pope Francis.

"We can look to Mary with confidence and trust in times of sorrow and joy," say the Catholic and Anglican rectors of Wallsingham, England's national Marian shrine.

The theme of this year’s novena is ‘Mary as friend, sister and mother’ and the devotional observance is being directed by Meath diocesan priest Fr Shane Crombie.

My thoughts turn to families in our own diocese who have welcomed the birth of a child during this past year and to those who are expecting a baby in the near future – Bishop Kevin Doran.

The witnesses “were ordinary people who lived in a very ordinary little village” and included “men, women and children ranging in age from four-year-old John Curry (who spoke no Irish) to Bridget Trench in her seventies (who spoke no English).”

“In the future when weekday and even Sunday Mass is not available, some of you might be formed to lead a period of guided adoration with prayers, praise and sharing of the Word of God.”

At Fatima, one century ago, Our Lady called for reparation for sins committed against Her Immaculate Heart.

Alan O’Mara, author of ‘The Best is Yet to Come: A Memoir about Football & Finding a Way through the Dark’, will speak about his own mental health experiences.

As a sign of communion of the whole Church, the Pope has requested that every diocese in the world open a 'Door of Mercy' for local celebrations of the Jubilee year.

“I ask why our society in many areas is uncaring," Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

Mary, Pope Francis underlines, will show women the path to understanding their role within society.

Fr Paul Churchill addresses the topic of Mary and the new Evangelisation – the second of two IEC2012 workshops led by the Legion of Mary.

Gerry Bourke SJ recalls his experience of devotion to Mary in Japan; he notes that it has been hugely important to Japanese Catholics going all the way back to the time of St Francis Xavier.

Declan Marmion SM reflects on Mary as the model of faithfulness and generosity in following Christ. He stresses the need to see Mary as a disciple and pilgrim of the early Church who was called to sanctity and to action.

Did Our Lady spend her last days in a small mountainside house overlooking Ephesus? Donald Carroll looks at the background to a great archaeological find near Kushadasi on the Aegean coast of Turkey.

Bishop John Kirby maintains that some ancient statues of the Madonna carved from local trees are proof that devotion to Our Lady of Clonfert dates back over 700 years.

In what it has to say about Mary Vatican II inserted a special chapter into the Constitution on the Church “Lumen Gentium”. By this it was signalling that it wished Mary to be seen as a prototype of the disciples of Jesus. Philip Fogarty SJ develops this spirituality.

In 2002 Pope John Paul II suddenly introduced five new “mysteries of light” to the Rosary. Was it that he recognised that there was “a gap” in the traditional Christian faith statements, like the Apostles’ Creed and used the popular devotion of the Rosary to try to remedy it? Patrick [...]

This article on the Rosary is taken from John Follan’s book, “The Light of his Face: Spirituality for Catholic teachers”. It brings out how, despite the agro the recitation of the Rosary causes in families, it can be found to have a significant place.

This article is a chapter from John Bollan’s book on religious education, “The Light of His Face: Spirituality for Catholic teachers”. I consists of reflections on the mysteries which, as he says himself, “cross over into any sphere of life and work”.

Two unexpected visitors to Fr Brendan Comerford SJ are what he calls his “unlikely inspiration” for his article about Mary. Like them, she is our “unselfconscious exemplar”.

Garry Wills believes that the Rosary, all twenty mysteries, is a form of devotion ideally suited to the modern world, when so many are seeking a form of contemplation, spiritual renewal and calm. It contains reflective meditations and lavish illustrations by Tintoretto

Martin Gani visits Avignon and learns about the infamous “Babylonian Captivity”.

Peter de Rosa’s dips into our favourite Marian prayers, poems and hymns, both ancient and modern. There are chapters on Mary’s many titles, the Rosary, and on Ireland’s faithfulness to it. We also get a glimpse of how great Protestants like Martin Luther, and Muslims like the Prophet Mohammed thought [...]

In 1850, Dom Prosper Gueranger OSB, at the invitation of Pope Pius IX, wrote a book which the Pope used as the basis of the Constitution “Ineffabalis Deus” which defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, on 8th December 1854. This article of a little over 4,000 words was written [...]

This is the Year of the Rosary, and October is the Month of the Rosary. Last October, Pope John Paul II announced five new mysteries, to be added to the traditional fifteen mysteries: Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious. Called the ‘Mysteries of Light’, the new mysteries focus on Jesus’ years in [...]