Shrine and reliquary of Saint Valentine, containing his holy relics, located in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Whitefriar Street, in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
- Bishop Nulty blessing couple to be livestreamed on Catholic Bishops’ Facebook page
On the eve of the Feast of Saint Valentine you, or a representative, are invited to a photocall for the blessing of an engaged couple by Bishop Denis Nulty. 2025 data on couples attending Accord’s marriage preparation programmes, and results of a new survey on attitudes of Gen Z and Millennials getting married in Church, will be published at this photocall. Details:
When Friday 13 February 2025 at 2.00pm. Following the blessing, Bishop Denis Nulty will celebrate Mass in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at 3.00pm.
Where Shrine of the holy relics of Saint Valentine, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Whitefriar Street, in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Who Engaged couple Lauren Stewart and David Higgins; Bishop Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin and President of Accord clg; and, Mr Tony Shanahan, Director of Accord clg.
ENDS
- Photographs from Whitefriar Street Church of the blessing are available to media by contacting John McElroy on +353 (0) 87 241 6985 and [email protected]
- The blessing of the rings and the couple will be livestreamed at 2.00pm on the Catholic Bishops’ Facebook page. Following the blessing, the celebration of Mass will be livestreamed on the parish website at 3.00pm https://whitefriarstreetchurch.com/live-church-webcam/
- Archbishop Dermot Farrell is Archbishop of Dublin. Father James Eivers O.Carm is Prior, and Father Eánna O hÓbáin O.Carm is Parish Priest of Whitefriar Street Church.
- Accord was established in Belfast in 1962 to support sacramental marriage preparation, and couple counselling. Accord is managed from three corporate centres based in Maynooth, Dublin and Belfast. Accord’s Sacramental Marriage Preparation programme is grounded in the real life experience of couples today. It is purposeful, encouraging and fully oriented towards emphasising the good and beautiful aspects of married life. It is also very practical in providing couples with exercises, tools and resources to communicate more effectively with each other and to manage conflict constructively. Feedback from couples indicates how informative and useful they have found the programme, how engaging, relaxed and enjoyable it has been and, most significantly, that the programme has prompted them to discuss topics about their relationship that they have previously not thought to discuss or avoided discussing.
- The holy relics of Saint Valentine are contained in a reliquary within a dedicated shrine in Whitefriar Street Church. The church was founded by Father John Spratt (1796-1871) in 1825 on the site of the 13th century Carmelite Monastery, and was opened in 1826 when 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 performed marriage ceremonies in defiance of the Roman emperor Claudius II’s edict, and was martyred on 14 February in 269 or 270 AD.
- In Catholic teaching the exchange of marriage vows creates a covenant between the couple and it is the most absolute promise two people can make to each other. The couple’s Christian baptism is what enables them to bestow the Sacrament of Marriage on each other. The presence of a bishop, priest or deacon is necessary to have as an official witness on behalf of the Church, but it does not replace the couple’s role as ministers of the Sacrament. As Pope Francis stated in his 2016 Apostolic Exhortation on love in the family, Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love, “May we never lose heart because of our limitations, or ever stop seeking that fullness of love and communion which God holds out before us” (Chapter 9).