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
- 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.
- January 20, 2025
Congratulations to Fr Reggie Gillooly C.S.Sp. who celebrated his 100th birthday on 15th January 2025. He is the first member of the Province to have reached this milestone since the late Fr Tim O’Driscoll in 2010.
- December 15, 2024
Wilfred Otubo was ordained to the Diaconate on Sunday 1st December 2024 in a ceremony at the Holy Spirit Church, Kimmage. From Uganda and appointed to Ireland, Wilfred has a Diploma in Spirituality (Applied Youth Ministry) from St Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he is currently
studying Theology.
-
The Central Development Office was set up in 2019 at the Generalate in Rome. It aims to help to put development at the centre of the Congregation’s mission of evangelization. Misean Cara provides Irish government funding to overseas development work supported by missionaries including Spiritans. The Province supports development work, overseen by the Overseas Development Officer, in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Sudan and Tanzania.
- December 8, 2024
Volume 2 Issue 5 Winter 2024
- August 26, 2024
Fr Álvaro Boavida Caíca C.S.Sp. paid a return visit to the Kimmage Community in August 2024. Fr Álvaro, who had done English language studies and part of his formation in the Irish Province, was ordained in 2006…
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:
