Homily of Bishop Niall Coll for Expectant Parents Mass in St Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, 8 September 2026
My friends, you are very welcome – especially all expectant parents, new parents, and young families. It is a joy to gather for this annual Mass, the first time that I have been present for it. There is a particular warmth in the Cathedral this evening. You bring with you the hope, the excitement and even the nervousness that come with welcoming new life. All of that is a blessing to us.
We are here to celebrate the gift of life – the life God is giving, and the life you are preparing to receive. Every child is a sign that God has not given up on the world. Every pregnancy is a reminder that the future is still open, still possible, still worth building.
When a child is conceived people of faith recognise that God is saying again: I trust this world enough to send another life into it. And when you say yes to that life, you are saying: We trust God enough to welcome this child. Young families speak to us of hope. They speak to us of courage. They speak to us of the deep desire to build a world that is truly human – a world shaped by love, belonging and faith.
In Ireland today, where so many people feel uncertain about the future, your “yes” to life is a powerful witness. It is a quiet but strong statement of faith. We don’t pretend that raising a family is easy. In Ireland, as in many places, the pressures are real. The cost of living, the struggle for housing, the pace of modern life – all of these make people hesitate. We see it in the numbers: birthrates in the Western World and beyond falling well below what is needed to sustain our populations. Economists warn of future strain – fewer workers, fewer taxpayers, fewer hands to care for an aging society.
But you – by welcoming life – are offering a different vision. You are saying that children are not a burden but a blessing. Not a cost but a gift. Not an inconvenience but a calling. Your generosity is a sign of discipleship. You are building the future of Ireland and the future of the Church. You are living the Gospel in one of its most beautiful forms: the daily, quiet, heroic love of parents.
Faith in Ireland has always been handed on in the home. Not first in classrooms or churches, but around kitchen tables, in bedtime prayers, in the stories told by grandparents and in the quiet example of parents who try their best. Faith is shared like food around the table, like laughter in the home, like forgiveness after an argument, like prayer whispered at night. In this way, families become privileged places to encounter Jesus – Jesus who loves us, who walks with us, who desires our good always.
Your home may be the place where your child first discovers that God is real and close. That is a sacred responsibility and a beautiful one.
Pope Leo XIV offers a simple but powerful encouragement to parents: “Be examples of integrity to your children, acting as you want them to act, educating them in freedom through obedience, always seeing the good in them and finding ways to nurture it.”
Children, many psychologists say, learn far more from what they see than from what they hear. When they see you pray, they learn trust. When they see you forgive, they learn mercy. When they see you serve others, they learn generosity. When they see you love each other, they learn what God’s love looks like. Your vocation is not perfection. It is presence. It is faithfulness. It is love.
And to grandparents – who play such a vital role in Irish family life – Pope Leo XIV says: “Watch over your loved ones with wisdom and compassion and with the humility and patience that come with age.” You carry memories, stories and faith that younger generations need. You are anchors in a world that often feels adrift. Your presence is a blessing, your experience a treasure, your love a steadying force.
In the Gospel for the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we hear the beginning of the Holy Family’s story (Matthew 1:18–23). It is a story filled with surprise, confusion, courage and trust – very much like the story of any young family. Joseph faces uncertainty. Mary carries a child who is both gift and mystery. Their future is unclear. Yet into this fragile moment, God speaks: “They will call him Emmanuel.” Emmanuel means “God‑with‑us”.
This is the promise for every family here today: God is with you. In your joy and your tiredness. In your worries and your hopes. In your sleepless nights and your happiest days. God is with you – not far away, not watching from a distance, but present in the very heart of your home.
The Holy Family shows us that God’s plan unfolds through ordinary people, in ordinary homes, through ordinary acts of love. Your family, too, is a place where God desires to dwell.
So, this evening, we bless the babies yet to be born, the children already in your arms, the parents learning as they go, the grandparents who steady the family and the homes that will welcome these little ones. We ask God to fill your hearts with courage, patience, tenderness and joy. We ask Our Lady – who carried Jesus beneath her heart – to shelter you and guide you. We ask St Joseph – protector of the Holy Family – to watch over your homes. And we ask Jesus, Emmanuel, God‑with‑us, to walk with you every step of the way.
Dear parents, dear families: thank you for your courage. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for saying “yes” to life. You are a blessing to our country, and a blessing to the Church here in the Diocese of Raphoe. May God who has begun this good work in you bring it to completion. May your homes be places of peace, joy and faith. And may your children grow knowing that they are loved … by you and by God. Amen.