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Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Br Kevin Crowley of Capuchin Day Centre dies aged 90
Brother Kevin Crowley (90), who ministered at the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin for many decades, has died. Over recent years he had been at Mount Desert Nursing Home in Cork. He had been known throughout the country and beyond as a Brother to the poor, particularly through his work in the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People which he founded on Bow Street, Dublin in 1969. Expressing his sincere sympathy to Br Kevin's family and his Capuchin confrères, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell recalled how Br Kevin had 'devoted his life to the service of the poor. His work with the Capuchin Day Centre staff and volunteers transformed the lives of the poor and marginalised in our city who availed of its services, from misery and despair to hope and love.' His was 'a love that reached out with no questions asked of those who sought assistance. Br Kevin was an authentic follower of St Francis of Assisi,' the Archbishop said. READ MORE Born at Kilcoleman, Enniskeane, Co Cork on February 24th, 1935, Br Kevin was baptised William but following entry to the Capuchin Postulancy in Kilkenny in 1958 and, later, the Novitiate in Rochestown, Co Cork, he received the name Kevin. [ 'He's just a saint, just a pure out and out saint': Founder of Capuchin Day Centre retires ] In 1968, he was asked to take charge of the Clothing Guild in Dublin's Church Street. He quickly realised that much more was required than a clothing distribution unit, so he set up the St Felix soup kitchen and day centre, which initially catered for up to 50 persons daily. From then the numbers just grew and grew. As he recalled in his final interview before leaving Dublin for his native Cork in August 2022, 'I saw the people coming to our church. I saw the people walking the streets. I saw the people looking into dustbins and taking food out of the dustbins'. As a follower of St Francis 'I decided something should be done for them.' It was the beginnings of the Capuchin Day Centre. 'We had no money. Things were very bad. I owed a bill for £1,000, and £1,000 then was a lot of money and I didn't have it. I went down to the oratory, and I do believe in God in a very, very big way, and I said to the Lord 'these are your people and if you want me to feed them you'd better go get the money'. And we never went short of food or money since then.' He recalled how at that time 'I thought the drink was a huge problem, which it was, but then the drug scene came in. The drug scene has taken over completely and is appalling. Only for our medical team we would have had many deaths here on the premises.' He said the centre has gone from about 50 people when it started to now having 200 people for breakfast, 600/700 for lunch from Monday to Saturday. Unsurprisingly a stand-out moment for him over the years was the visit of Pope Francis to the Centre in August 2018. 'The greatest for me was the day they saw the Pope coming up Bow St in the Popemobile and the first thing he did was to come up to the homeless people to greet each and every one of them. And I made it quite clear there were to be no dignitaries whatsoever here.' Present too on that day were two other great allies of the homeless, Alice Leahy and Sr Stanislaus Kennedy. What was most significant for Br Kevin about such visits was that 'the homeless people were being recognised. That was the most important thing for me'. In Rome later that year, addressing Capuchins from around the world, Pope Francis, departed from his prepared speech to say how 'recently in Ireland, I saw your work with the most discarded and I was moved. It is a beautiful thing that … the elderly founder told me, `Here we do not ask where you come from, who you are: you are a child of God'. This is one of your traits. To really understand the persons, by 'smell', unconditionally.' Another regular visit to the centre over the years was President Michael D Higgins. On a visit there in 2016 he said what Br Kevin made possible at the Day Centre was 'the stuff of a real republic'. The remains of Br Kevin will arrive at St Mary of the Angel's, Church St Dublin at 5pm on Thursday evening and will lie in repose there on Friday until 6pm. Following requiem Mass on Saturday at 11am, burial will follow in Dardistown cemetery.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Children making Confirmation asked to include vaping in their abstinence pledge
Children making their Confirmation in Ireland will be invited, from next year, to take an expanded 'pledge'. As well as vowing to abstain from alcohol until adulthood, they would abstain from vaping and smoking. The pledge has long been a rite of passage for 12- and 13-year-olds receiving the Catholic sacrament, traditionally involving a promise to abstain from alcohol and drugs. The development forms part of Church leaders' efforts to encourage children to make healthier lifestyle choices in their formative years. The Irish Bishops' Drugs and Alcohol Initiative, in partnership with the Catholic Primary School Management Association, which provides advice and support to the boards of management of over 2,800 schools, will make a new online module available to all schools whose students wish to take the updated pledge. READ MORE The expanded pledge seeks to honour Matt Talbot who died 100 years ago last week. Talbot was first exposed to alcohol aged 12 and became a heavy drinker before quitting when he was 28 and devoting his life to spirituality. He was described as 'a person of hope, faith, and charity' by Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell. The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference said that the updated pledge 'supports our young people in terms of physical and mental health, and goes some way to address the concerns of parents regarding new and harmful substances impacting the health and wellbeing of their children'. [ Child-related benefits lift 150,000 children out of poverty, ESRI finds Opens in new window ] Chris Macey, director of advocacy with the Irish Heart Foundation, said such practices 'normalise vaping in the eyes of children'. A ban on the sale of vaping products and e-cigarettes to people under 18 came into effect in 2023. According to a 2024 Growing up in Ireland survey, almost 10 per cent of 13-year olds had tried vaping.
