Ahead of the Feast of Saint Valentine you, or a representative, are invited to a photocall for the blessing of engaged couples by Bishop Denis Nulty, at the shrine of the holy relics of Saint Valentine in Dublin city. Details:
Time and date Tomorrow, Monday 12 February 2024 at 12:15pm, following the celebration of Mass that begins at 11:30am.
Venue Shrine of Saint Valentine, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Whitefriar Street, in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
In attendance Bishop Denis Nulty, Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin and President of Accord CLG, and engaged couples: Sinéad O’Connor from Newbridge and Darren Larkin from Blessington; and, Siobhan O’Shaughnessy from Cork and Kieran Davey from Dublin.
Launch of new Accord marriage preparation programme and 2023 figures
On the occasion of the annual blessing of engaged couples and their rings at the shrine of Saint Valentine in Whitefriar’s Church, the Catholic marriage care service, Accord, will launch its revised and updated Marriage Preparation Programme. This is the first major revision of the programme in 20 years. It was commissioned by the Irish Bishops’ Conference as a legacy of the World Meeting of Families which took place in Ireland in 2018. The figures for the number of couples who participated last year in Accord’s Sacrament of Marriage preparation courses will be released during the photocall.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
- Photographs in Whitefriar Street Church of the blessing of engaged couples will be available to media from John McElroy on +353 (0) 87 241 6985 and [email protected].
- Archbishop Dermot Farrell is Archbishop of Dublin. Father Simon Nolan, O.Carm is Prior, and Father Seán MacGiollarnáth O.Carm is Parish Priest of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
- Accord was established in Belfast in 1962, and today it’s marriage preparation and marriage counselling services are offered North and South from 54 offices on the island of Ireland. Accord is managed from three corporate centres based in Maynooth, Dublin and Belfast.
- The holy relics of Saint Valentine are contained in a reliquary within a dedicated shrine in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street). The church was founded by Father John Spratt (1796-1871) in 1825 on the site of the 13th century Carmelite Monastery. The church was opened in 1826 and he became its first Prior. Father Pratt was renowned in Europe for his skill as a preacher. Following a visit to Rome in 1835, Pope Gregory XVI was so impressed that he gave Father Pratt a reliquary containing relics of Saint Valentine which he brought back to Dublin. Saint Valentine was a priest who married couples in defiance of the Roman emperor Claudius II’s edict, and he was martyred on 14 February around 269 or 270 AD.
