Guest speakers and themes 2025

January – Guest Speaker Cardinal Wilfred Napier – “Collegiality and Synodality”

February - Guest Speaker Bishop Peter Collins – “The Lessons of Infirmity”

March - Guest Speaker Dana Rosemary Scallon – “Light the Fire”

April - Guest Speaker Ambassador Michèle Bowe, Order of Malta, President, Holy Family Hospital, Bethlehem – “My work in Palestine with the Order of Malta and St Ann”

June - Guest Speaker Cardinal Wilfred Napier – “Behind the Scenes of the Conclave, The Making of a Pope”

July - Guest Speaker Bishop Fintan Monahan with the theme: "Mary, Model of Hope on our Pilgrim journey"

September - Guest Speaker Dr. Keith Chappell – “Grandparents & the Catholic Faith – Influencers on Emerging Adults”

October – Guest Speaker Lorene Hanley DuQuin - "How Grandparents can Help when Bad Things Happen"

November - Guest Speaker Cardinal Wilfred Napier – “Absent Fathers and their Effect on Families and Society”

December - Guest Speaker Joan lewis – “Christmas at the Vatican”

Guest speakers and themes 2024

January - Dr Keith Chappell - Theme: "Grandparents as mediators"

February - Kimberly Hahn - Theme: Grace-Filled Grandparenting - How to Share Our Love and God's Love with the Next Generation.

March - Guest Speaker Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly - “Grandparents, called to be Missionary Disciples”

April - Guest Speaker Archbishop Gilbert Garcera - "Enlarging the space of your tent"

May - Guest Speaker Dr Christine Ward - "Theology of the Body"

June - Guest Speaker Lorene Du Quinn - "When Bad Things Happen to Good Grandparents"

July - Guest Speaker Bishop Denis Nulty - "The lessons I learned from Gran Gran"

September - Guest Speaker Archbishop Thomas Wenski - “All families – nuclear, extended, broken or blended – are called to be holy places when God lives with his people”

October - Guest Speaker Archbishop Dermot Farrell - "Prayer"

November - Guest Speaker Father Lambert Ramos - "What I did for Love"

December - Guest Speaker Dr. Keith Chappell - "The Colours of Christmas"

Guest speakers and Themes at the Faith Café in 2023 were: 

January 10th - Bishop Kevin Doran - Bishop of Elphin - Grandparents - counter cultural influencers in the family

February 15th - Sister Dervilla O’Donnell, Ireland - Healthcare Chaplain

A Ministry of Healing marking World Day of the Sick

March 16th - Fr Bryan Shortall Ofm Cap  - The Stations of the Cross - our personal journeys towards light, hope and faith.

May 9th - Father Alan Hilliard - Sabbath

September 12th - Father Svetozar Kraljevic OFM - Medjugorje

Reflections - Peggy Stanton

October 10th - Author Jane Sweeney - Stepping into the Dark, Living with Dementia

Reflections - Deacon Ken Henry

November 14th - David Quinn - Founder of The Iona Institute and renowned journalist.

Catholics in the Modern Sexual Minefield

December 12th - Cardinal Wilfred Napier - Marriage and Family - The basics of Man’s Hope and Future

We hosted the Grandparents’ Faith Café 11 times in 2022. In December 2022 we reached the milestone of offering our 25th gathering of the Faith Café. All meetings were held online via Zoom. The Faith Cafe is a social and spiritual space for Grandparents to be together, to listen to a guest speaker, to share a moment of reflection and to have some time to chat about matters of faith and family.

Guest speakers at the Faith Café in 2022 were:

Journalist and Author Peggy Stanton - “The Season of Creation”

Father Liam Lawton - “November Remembrance”

Bishop David Oakley - “Strong Routes of Faith in the Family”

Associate Professor Vivek da Silva - “Season of Creation”

Archbishop Francis Duffy - “World Day for Grandparents and The Elderly”

Cardinal Wilfred Napier - “Strengthening the bridge of faith between the generations”

Fr Willie Purcell - “The Role of Grandparents in nurturing Vocations”

Life Coach Tara Rafter - “Well Being and Care for Grandparents”

Dana Rosemary Scallon - “The Joy of Love in Marriage and Family”

Father Enda Brady and Bishop Paul Dempsey - “Grandparents and Synodality”