The numbers tell a bleak story for the Catholic Church in Ireland

Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare and Leighlin said he hoped that the newly returned relic of St. Brigid would inspire people to show hospitality to asylum-seekers, at a time of growing protests about immigration in the country.

In a country disillusioned with Catholicism, Ireland’s St. Brigid is having a moment.

RTÉ aired two documentaries in January looking at the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland: “The Last Priests in Ireland” and “The Last Nuns in Ireland.” But signs of hope can still be discerned amid the decline after years of church turbulence.

C. S. Lewis was gifted with an expansive imagination—but much of his spiritual writing doesn't flinch from the hard realities of life.

Shane MacGowan once said that he was the one that God would use to save Irish music. Despite a public persona that was often less than saintly, he grappled with faith in many of his iconic songs.