Cathedral News

The Oirbsen Ensemble will give a concert in the Cathedral on Sunday 8 September at 16:00, playing music by Dvorak, Debussy, Pleyel and Telemann. The Oirbsen Ensemble is a wind ensemble made up mostly of players from the Galway area. Admission to the concert is free, and all are welcome.

Galway Cathedral is delighted to announce its 2013 series of summer concerts, running from 4 July until 8 August on Thursdays at 20:00. This is the 20th annual series of concerts to take place in the Cathedral; the first series was presented in 1994. Since then, the concerts have grown to become one of the country's premier summer concert series.

The week between Passion Sunday and Easter Sunday is the most sacred of the church year, and will be celebrated in solemn fashion in Galway Cathedral.

In this Year of Faith, the annual Lenten house masses have been replaced by evening masses held in the Cathedral for a particular area of the Cathedral parish.

Friday 1 February is the feast of St Brigid, patron of Ireland, and a prayer service to mark the feast take place in the Cathedral at 19:30 that evening. The service includes include readings, music and a short talk by Una Allen on the topic of Jesus and the role of women, then and now. All are welcome.

The annual Solemn Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help begins on Monday 4 February 2013, and runs until Tuesday 12 February. The theme of this year's novena is The Gospel Virtues for Today. There are six sessions each day, as follows: Monday-Saturday: 07:45, 11:00, 13:10, 15:30, 19:30, 21:30 Sunday: 09:00, 10:30, 12:30, 16:30, 18:30, 20:15 The preachers at the novena this year are Brian Nolan CSsR, Brendan O'Rourke CSsR and Patrick O'Keeffe CSsR.

From Sunday 6 January 2013, Sunday Mass in Galway Cathedral will be celebrated as follows: Saturday 18:00 Sunday 09:00, 11:00, 12:30, 18:00

Christmas is one of the most joyful seasons of the church year, and is celebrated in the Cathedral with appropriate solemnity. Here are details of the various events taking place at this time.

After consultation with our Parish Pastoral Council a new format for November and Lenten House Masses is being introduced to mark this Year of Faith.

The Year of Faith runs from 11 October 2012 until 24 November 2013. A festive Mass to mark the opening of the Year of Faith takes place in the Cathedral on Sunday 14 October at 15:00, and all are welcome. Read more about the Year of Faith on the website of the Diocese of Galway.