Charity Number CHY 00076 | Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20000172
OUR SPIRITAN FAMILY
One Heart, One Spirit
The Spiritan Rule of Life
I'm pleased to inform you that the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans), in collaboration with the Irish Episcopal Conference, is once again offering its Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers through the Spiritan Mission Ireland office.
The residential course will be held in An Tobar Retreat & Spirituality Centre in Ardbraccan near Navan, Co. Meath in two consecutive one-week blocks (September 1st-5th and September 8th- 12th 2025).
Crafted by Spiritan Mission Ireland (SMI) in collaboration with various partners, the course is designed to prepare and support newcomers to pastoral ministry in Ireland, both in parish and congregational settings. Please see the attached information for further details.
Should you have any questions or require further information about the programme, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Ronan Barry,
Director,
Spiritan Mission Ireland Office.
Pope Francis has chosen the motto “The prayer of the poor rises up to God (cf. Sir 21:5)” for the Eighth World Day of the Poor, 17th November 2024.
World Day of the Poor emphasizes the importance of prayer and action for the poor, highlighting the fact that God listens to the prayers of the poor and is eager to bring justice to them.
The Pope encourages everyone to pray for, and with, the poor, and to engage in charitable actions that reflect the authenticity of their prayers. The 2024 occasion will include a Eucharistic celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica and a lunch with the poor, organized by the Dicastery for Charity. Communities are also called to focus on the needs of the poor in their local areas through various initiatives.
As part of our 2024 resource, we have included an acknowledgment of SPIRASI's 25th anniversary, celebrating this Irish Spiritan initiative which is dedicated to supporting victims of torture.
The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all Creation through liturgy, celebration, conversion and commitment. It is an annual season where we pray and act together as a Christian family for our common home. As you celebrate the Season of Creation, remember that – rather than holding events – we are:
building encounters to cultivate listening
engaging in action for our common home &
strengthened by our spirituality, committing and following up on our responsibilities with Creation.
- June 7, 2025
- October 2, 2025
After 12 years of ministry in the Diocese of Elphin, Fr Pat O’Toole C.S.Sp. has now retired.
Earlier this year, Fr Pat, who is a native of Co. Mayo and who had missioned in Kenya as a young priest, was one of 13 Irish Spiritans who celebrated the 60th anniversary of their Ordination…
- September 13, 2025
The first of a series of orientation courses for pastoral ministry workers was run by the then Kimmage Development Studies Centre in 2016. Designed to meet the needs of incoming clergy, pastoral workers and religious, the very diverse course covered liturgical, practical and personal-development elements, as well as the realities and challenges of pastoral work in Ireland at the time.
- August 24, 2025
On 19th March 2025 around 7,000 native Irish trees – including Birch, Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Hazel and Oak – were planted across three mini-forests attached to the Spiritan Retreat & Spirituality Centre in Ardbraccan as part of ‘The 100 million Trees Project’.
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Three Spiritans serving in Ireland attended the recent Jubilee of Youth gathering in Rome. They were Fr Erasmus Manwa (a member of the chaplaincy team in Rockwell College), Fr John Correa (Parish Grouping of Springfield, Brookfield and Jobstown in the Archdiocese of Dublin) and Fr Sami Sebastikkannu (Greenhills Parish in the Archdiocese of Dublin).
- July 24, 2025
The 12.30pm Mass in St Mark’s Church, Springfield on Sunday 29th June 2025 marked a farewell to Fr Bill O’Shaughnessy and Fr Pat O’Rourke who are transferring from the Tallaght parish of Springfield, Brookfield and Jobstown.
- June 15, 2025
Three Spiritans who joined the Congregation in 1960 were recently reunited in Kimmage for the funeral of Fr Vincent Browne C.S.Sp. who had been with them in their novitiate year. Pictured, they are (L-R) Fr Pat Doody, Fr Pat Downes and Fr Paul Walsh.
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:
