Irish Jesuits

In part one of this three part series, American Jesuit Barton Geger SJ speaks with Pat Coyle about Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Bart discusses his work in helping people see how Saint Ignatius' writings and teaching have been interpreted differently throughout the centuries and how Saint Ignatius' book the Spiritual Exercises has been interpreted over time. Bart says that he believes certain values a...

Directors, Jesuits, and lay collaborators in the Social Justice Apostolates of the Irish Province gathered in Manresa Jesuit Centre for Spirituality, on Friday 10 October 2025, to celebrate 50 Years of a ‘faith that does justice’. They listened to talks on the subject before reflecting in smaller groups on what a ‘faith that does justice’ means for the Order and its colleagues today, and what it s...

Austen Ivereigh, journalist, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis talks to Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications. He shares his insights about the recent election of Pope Leo XIV and his memories of the late Pope Francis, including his last meeting with him.

ERIC C STARWARS by Irish Jesuits

Dr. Janet Soskice is Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology Emerita at the University of Cambridge and William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology in Duke Divinity School North Carolina. Her most recent book is ‘Naming God: addressing the Divine in theology, philosophy and Scripture’ (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Dr. Soskice was guest and keynote speaker at...

Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin from Adigrat diocese in Tigray Ethiopia tells Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communiciations about the two-year invasion of his diocese by Ethiopian government forces assisted by Somalian and Eritrean mercenaries. Over one million people were murdered and almost three million people displaced during the ensuing war. The invasion was marked by human rights violations, includi...

It was kidneys, sausages, bacon and copious cups of tea all the way at the Bloomsday breakfast held in Belvedere College on Monday 16 June 2025.Joyce himself was a pupil of the college from 1893 to 1898. Bloomsday is the annual celebration held on this day every year to commemorate the life and works of James Joyce, particularly his novel Ulysses. The hearty breakfast was served in the beautifully...

Croatian/Irish author and spiritual director Dr Iva Beranek, who worked as Parish Manager in St Francis Xavier’s Church, Gardiner Street, speaks with Pat Coyle about her two children's books. The first 'Veronica's Bookstore' which was published in 2021 and the sequel 'The Year of Celebrations' which has recently been published (2025). Both are published by Independent Publishing Network. The stori...

Irish Jesuit theologian Gerry O'Hanlon recently took part in an ecumenical seminar at Oxford University. the topic of 'Anglican and Catholic Synodality'. On his return to Ireland, Gerry spoke with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications about his meeting in Oxford. He talked about the contribution made by Anglican Professor Marc Chapman, and outlined the main points of discussion in his own talk....

Michael O'Sullivan: Returning to Chile by Irish Jesuits

Martha Phiri, the Policy and Advocacy officer with the Jesuit Centre for Ecology & Development (JCED) in Malawi speaks with Pat Coyle about life in Malawi, one of the worlds most vulnerable countries. Climate change is having a huge impact on agriculture which is crucial for the economy. The JCED have set up multiple initiatives to support local people and businesses there, with a particular focus...

Irish Jesuit and Director of the Department of Fundamental Theology in Rome Gerry Whelan SJ, speaks with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications about the life and work of Pope Francis in light of his recent passing.

Faith gives hope - Donal Godfrey SJ by Irish Jesuits

Who is a good local? by Irish Jesuits

American actor Paul Rudd and singer songwriter Nick Jonas have sent a video message of support for the 41st annual Belvedere SleepOut which takes place at the Bank of Ireland College Green, Dublin, from Sunday 22 December at 12pm until Christmas Eve at noon, Tuesday 24 December 2024. Listen to the interview with some of the students from the SleepOut team about their plans for the two days, which...

Father Tony returned to Ireland in June 2024 following a three year stay Syria. Earlier in the week Father Tony visited the Irish the Jesuit Communications office to share the backstory of what was happening in Syria which led to the historic weekend events.

In this interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications, Gerry O'Hanlon gives his assessment of this final phase of Pope Francis' synodal processes which ended in Rome this October. In what some might regard as a surprisingly hopeful take on what emerged, he roots out important aspects of the Synod documents which he says have been paid scant attention, particularly regarding the controver...

Australian Jesuit and author Father Richard Leonard SJ reads a section from his latest book Why God? The book is a collection of personal stories focussing on four themes: church, liturgy and sacraments, society, and faith and spirituality. In this piece he speaks about his mother and the awful tragedies that occurred throughout her life. She has kept her faith in God throughout them all and now s...

Austen Ivereigh, journalist and biographer of Pope Francis has been writing about the Sacred Heart in The Tablet in anticipation of the encyclical. In this interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications, he outlines the background to 'Dixit Nos -He Loved Us' and speaks about Pope Francis' personal devotion to the Sacred Heart and the importance of the Sacred Heart as a popular devotion in...

Austen Ivereigh, journalist and biographer of Pope Francis has been writing about the Sacred Heart in The Tablet in anticipation of the encyclical. In this interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications, he outlines the background to 'Dixit Nos -He Loved Us' and speaks about Pope Francis' personal devotion to the Sacred Heart and the importance of the Sacred Heart as a popular devotion in...

Author and Jesuit Father Richard Leonard SJ reads a section from his latest book 'Why God?'. In the piece Father Richard reflects on a time when he was given the opportunity to be part of a birthing experience with a young woman named Mary who fell pregnant at the age of sixteen and had no birthing partner.

Vincentian Priest and Spiritual Director, Father Michael McCullagh speaks with Pat Coyle Director of Jesuit Communications in Knock about his recent book 'With Due Respect: Taking a Second Look at God, at Self, at Others' which was launched earlier this year. Michael explains that the word "respect" comes from the Latin "respectus" from the verb respicere "look back at" or in Michael's words" look...

Journalist, author and biographer of Pope Francis, Dr. Austen Ivereigh was the Novena guest speaker at Knock on 14 August 2024. His talk was entitled 'Hope for a Changing Church'. In this interview with Pat Coyle of the Irish Jesuit Communication Centre he reflects on the topics raised during his talk, specifically the "communion of unity and fraternity". He says there are two different kinds of u...

Author and Jesuit Father Richard Leonard SJ reflects on the life of the late Father Gerald Collins SJ who died on 22 August 2024 at age ninety three.

Fr Richard Leonard gave a workshop on ‘Taking a fresh look at Mary’ in Knock. He outlined 10 key points about her that we can learn from the gospels, noting that the references to her are often so sparse and so familiar that we lose the depth of their meaning.