Bishops' Autumn General meeting concludes in Maynooth

Members of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference gathered this week at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, for their Autumn 2026 General Meeting.

The President of the Conference is Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, and the Vice-President is Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin.

On the first day of the conference, bishops concelebrated Mass in Saint Mary’s Oratory of Saint Patrick’s College.  Chief celebrant Archbishop Martin offered prayers for families and neighbours across Ireland who have experienced intimidation, injury and death due to violence in their local community – in particular for the English family of Waterford City whose funeral Mass took place this week; for peace in the Holy Land, and for all people suffering in conflict zones throughout the world.  In particular, bishops welcomed the initiative of Pope Leo XIV over recent days in contacting President Putin of Russia and President Zelensky of Ukraine to urge them to allow food and medical aid to reach civilians in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and for the safe evacuation of the civilian population there.  Bishops have announced that the Catholic Church in Ireland will hold a national day of prayer for peace in Ukraine on Wednesday 24 February 2027, to mark the fifth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Prayers were also offered for the full recovery of Pope Leo following his recent surgery in Rome.

Items for discussion during Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference Autumn meeting included:

• Universal Church encounter ‘Ten years of Amoris Laetitia: Proclaiming the Gospel with Families Today’
• Praying for continued peace in Northern Ireland
• Taking the next steps following the National Synodal Assembly of the Irish Synodal Pathway
• Update from the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church
• Bishops: “Migration is good for the Church and the economy”
• Irish Inter-Church Meeting on the theme
• Trócaire report: plight of Christian community and prevention of humanitarian aid in Gaza; Ebola virus in DR Congo
• 40^th anniversary of the historic Assisi peace meeting on 27 October
• Bishops express concern at UNIFIL mandate in Lebanon being discontinued
• Bishops call for alternative forms of rehabilitation for those convicted of crimes
• Bishops call on EU delegation to advocate for a just transition from fossil fuels at COP31
• Cause for Canonisation of Father Willie Doyle SJ
• ‘Living Magnifica Humanitas’ – conference on safeguarding humanity in the AI era
• Catholic Schools Week 2027

To read more about the Autumn General Meeting, please click HERE