What's New

Migration is an extraordinarily important theme of Irish life, from even before the massive flight during the Irish Potato Famine. Outward migration continued through the 1970s, but a new phenomenon has overshadowed it and begun to change the country.

Knock is the largest Catholic shrine in Ireland, a pilgrimage venue that in a limited way takes it place alongside Lourdes and Fatima.

Whereas many aspects of Catholic attachment and practice are declining in Ireland, no aspect of Catholic practice seems as vital as the Irish wake and funeral.

Priests and parishioners at some Dublin parishes estimate that as few as 2-7% of parishioners attend on any given weekend. This was said to be especially true in working poor neighborhoods.

The rise of the "Celtic Tiger" and revelations of widespread clergy sexual abuse crisis are often cited as causes for the sharp decline in Catholic practice at the turn of the new millennium.

Kudagama is a center for healing and pilgrimage site. Services feature praise and thanksgiving, confession, and emphasis on the power of priests to heal.

In the middle of the jungle, Our Lady of Madhu Shrine welcomes pilgrims throughout the year, and a formal procession on the Feast of the Assumption.

Catholics are focused on healing and reconciliation within their church following a civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the minority Tamil secessionist movement.

Saints in Uganda, and especially the martyrs St. Charles Lwanga and companions, serve a three-fold function: as intermediaries, as protectors and as role models.

Marriage is an enormously important social event in Ugandan traditional cultures. While rural norms governing marriage remain strong, up to a third of children in Kampala are born to single mothers.