Charity Number CHY 00076 | Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20000172
OUR SPIRITAN FAMILY
One Heart, One Spirit
The Spiritan Rule of Life
by Fr Martin Kelly, Irish Provincial of the Spiritans (16th Nov 2022)
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5th Sunday of Easter (28th April) John 15:1-8
Latest: Our Missions Overseas Kenya – Insight from Fr. Brendan Carr C.S.Sp
The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans), in collaboration with the IrishEpiscopal Conference, is delighted to announce that once again we are offering the Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers, through the Spiritan Mission Ireland office. This course has been instrumental in recent years in helping overseas personnel adapt to the challenges and nuances of ministry in Ireland.
Buildingon the positive feedback from previous participants and fruitful discussions with stakeholders, we're excited to present the programme to you. As in previous years, the course will run at the end of August and the beginning of September. The residential aspect of the programme remains unchanged, as it hasproven highly beneficial for participants.
The upcoming course is scheduled for two weeks, from August 26th to 30th and from September 2nd to 6th, 2024, inclusive. It willbe held at 'An Tobar' Spiritan Retreat and Spirituality Centre, Ardbraccan, Navan, Co. Meath.
We believe that the residential format fosters deeper engagement with the course content and is less disruptive to participants' current pastoral responsibilities. To ensure the effectiveness of the programme, we plan for an engagement with a minimum of 12 participants and a maximum of 15. This will enable optimal participant engagement using an Adult Education methodology.
For detailed information on content, cost and the application process, interested participants are encouraged to contact me by email: ronan.barry@spiritanplt.ie or phone: 0879419826 (WhatsApp) for application details.
For more details, please download the Brochure.
The deadline for receipt of applications is June 30th 2024.
Shouldyou have any queries or require further information about the programme, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Ronan Barry
Course Coordinator
Venerable Francis Libermann embarked on an extraordinary faith journey. Born in 1802 into an orthodox Jewish family in France's Alsace region and given the name Jacob, he was destined to follow in his father's footsteps as a rabbi. However, his pathtook an unexpected turn when his studies led him to the New Testament and Christianity. At Christmas 1826, he was baptized Francis Mary Paul.
Delayed by illness,his pursuit of the Catholic priesthood took a total of no less than fifteenyears. He was finally ordained in 1841. The years leadingto his ordination served as a period of grace and maturation for him. He becamea trusted advisor to many seminarians and others seeking spiritual growth.Through his own trials, and joys, he developed unwavering confidence and aprofound belief that the Holy Spirit was guiding human affairs.
Libermann's concept of "practical union with God" empowered him and others to recognize the divine in everyday life, facing challenges with confidence and faith.
His spirituality, rooted in responsiveness to the Spirit, proved invaluable during the development of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as well as obtaining official approval from Rome for their apostolate to people of the margins.
Spiritan Mission Ireland
- March 11, 2024
- April 28, 2024
Fr. Chika Onyejiuwa C.S.Sp. – Director of Kibanda, the European Spiritan Centre for Solidarity – visited the Irish Province in April 2024. Kibanda seeks to promote the sustainable development of disadvantaged populations in developing countries by supporting the overseas development work of Spiritan missionaries…
- April 20, 2024
One of two* Irish Spiritans who are currently serving in Asia, Fr Pat Palmer (pictured) is Rector of the Spiritan Theology Community in the Philippines. Currently the community has a total of sixteen students. One is from Kenya, two are from Tanzania and the rest are from Vietnam. In late 2023 three were ordained deacons while three others were ordained…
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Ruth Hamisi and Fr John Wambu C.S.Sp. of the Spiritan Province of Kenya, serving respectively in the areas of programmes and education, have just completed a c.10-day visit to Ireland. Their visit included meetings with Willow Wheelers and with Nächstenliebe Weltweit / Love of Neighbour who have been generous funders to Spiritan works in Kenya and elsewhere…
- January 15, 2024
Fr Alain Mayama C.S.Sp. (above), who succeeded Fr John Fogarty C.S.Sp. as Superior General of the Spiritans in late 2021, was in Ireland from 30th December 2023 to 4th January 2024.
Born in Brazzaville and a member of the Province of Congo, Fr Alain was ordained a priest in 2000, and served in Cameroon, Gabon and the US before returning as Provincial…
- December 10, 2023
The Spiritans have secured two emergency grants, each to the value of €15,000, from Misean Cara for support to pastoralist and farmer families in Kenya who have been affected by recent flood damage. The floods follow El Niño rains that began in early November and which have now affected a number of countries in east Africa.
- December 4, 2023
Welcome to Abraham Akpen Jov (Nigeria NNE) and Maxwell Atuguba (Ghana), doing MA studies in International Peacebuilding, Security & Development Practice, and Crispin Mbumba Kawanga (DRC) doing English language studies. All three are resident in St Mary’s community.
We have 17 en-suite bedrooms 13 single and 4 twin rooms. We supply bedlinen and towels in all rooms and hair dryer and iron on request. Houses are non-smoking, but there is a designated smoking area.
Workshops at An Tobar focus on wellbeing (meditation, mindfulness, ecology and holistic living etc.). Retreats focus on spiritual accompaniment, school retreats, and prayer and spirituality.
Every Sunday the Spiritan Community celebrate a reflective Eucharist at 10:30am - all are welcome. There are also ritual celebrations at key moments in the Liturgical year and in the cosmic cycle.
An Tobar regularly offers ecology focused workshops and courses. As well as this, groups/individuals can expect to find welcome, hospitality and healing & hope in our beautiful woodlands & walkways.
An Tobar is the Retreat & Spirituality Centre of the Irish Spiritan Province. It is located in Ardbraccan near Navan where the novitiate for Spiritan Brothers was based in the 1950s / ’60s and where the Province maintained a working farm for many years. Today the grounds form a pleasant backdrop to the Centre which is overseen by a small Spiritan community and team.
The Centre, which has been operational since the 1980s, offers:
