There was standing room only at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne on Thursday as Bishop Fintan presided at the Mass of Chrism

Parishioners travelled from across the diocese to join in the only Mass celebrated in the diocese on Holy Thursday morning.

The Mass was concelebrated by dozens of priests from the parishes, chaplaincies, religious orders and missionary societies in the diocese.

Deacon Frank McKevitt also ministered at the Mass along with Ministers of the Word and Eucharist, the Cathedral Choir directed by John Casey and altar servers from Cork and Barryroe.

Fr. Christy Fitzgerald and Fr Fergus Ryan were Masters of Ceremonies.

The church choirs from the six parishes around Clonakilty were together for the first time to reflect on the place of music and singing in Catholic worship

The workshop was led by Fr. Fergus Ryan OP CC who is based in Barryroe and ministers in the parishes.

Eighty choir members and priests from Barryroe in the east to Rosscarbery in the west and from most churches in between attended.

The gathering was held at Clonakilty Parish Centre.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Dan Boyle, paid a courtesy visit to Bishop Fintan Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, Cork

Cllr. Dan Boyle was born in Chicago, Illinois, to emigrant Irish parents. He has lived in his mother's native city of Cork since he was eight years of age, in the Turners Cross area of the city.

He was educated at local schools; Scoil Chríost Rí and Coláiste Chríost Rí, and at the Cork Regional Technical College (now MTU), where he studied Business Studies and Child Care. He received an MBS in Government from University College Cork in 2015.

The Lord Mayor was accompanied by Brian Geaney, Assistant Chief Executive, Cork City Council.

Also present was Canon John O'Donovan, Co-PP and Moderator of the Cathedral Family of Parishes.

Bishop Fintan Gavin was the principal celebrant of Mass to mark St. Patrick’s Day at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, Cork

The congregation included An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin; members of the Cork City Council, led by Lord Mayor Cllr. Dan Boyle, along with Valerie O'Sullivan, Chief Executive of Cork City Council.

The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Cllr. Mal Mutton and Lady Mayoress of Coventry, Margaret Hickman were also in attendance.

In his homily at the Mass, Bishop Fintan reminded people of the important religious dimension of St. Patrick’s Day.

“St. Patrick’s Day is a religious feast. We celebrate our national saint, St. Patrick. We celebrate the important place our faith has played in our story over many centuries here in Ireland and beyond. We remember the thousands and thousands of Irish missionaries, religious and lay, around the world who have carried the message of Christ to the ends of the earth.”

The audience in a packed Cork City Hall were on their feet in praise of the almost five-hundred young people who keep them entertained and inspired

The Maranatha concert was the high point of the first music and faith-based day for post-primary school students across the diocese.

Students from more than twenty schools in the Diocese of Cork and Ross participated in Maranatha 2025 at Cork City Hall.

The event was created to bring young people together to celebrate faith and identity through music and have fun at the same time.

Addressing the young people and the hundreds of attendees from across the Diocese in the audience, Bishop Fintan Gavin thanked everyone who made it possible and said Maranatha’s purpose was focused on an important question for all young people.

“The biggest question all of us face in our life is about our identity: Who am I? In a sense, our whole life is trying to work out who we are,” he said. “If there's anything, I want you to hear this evening coming out of Maranatha it is this: you are the beloved daughter and son of God. You are loved by God!”

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Recent days have seen the first groups of young people across the diocese receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation

Bishop Fintan conferred the sacrament on children from Clogagh and Timoleague National Schools on Tuesday Feb 11th in Timoleague’s Parish Church. Bishop Emeritus John Buckley conferred the sacrament on the girls of St. Catherine’s School at Ballineaspaig Parish Church in Cork city on the same day.

The ceremonies continue across the diocese until Friday April 4th. There are a number of ceremonies on most days in order to accommodate the number of candidates and their families.

Almost 3,000 candidates are being presented for the sacrament by their parents and schools.