The conference has as its theme "The Future of the Irish parish: Lessons from around the world" which brings together sharings from all corners of the globe about the changing nature and meaning of parish life both within the church but also as an external manifestation of identity.
Parish life in Ireland both urban and rural has been under going massive change over the last number of years but is still a key part of Irish self identity and understanding. It is not for nothing that often the first question an Irish person asks another is not who are you but rather where are you from?
With the forth coming massive decline in the number of priests in active ministry the challenge has been for the Irish church to get to grips with how we understand and celebrate parishes as vibrant, living expressions of lived communities of faith with a model which is no longer so centred on the role and identity of the parish priest. The aim of the conference is to look to examples of this from around the world and to remind ourselves of the words of Pope Francis that "the parish is not an out-dated institution">i> (E.G.28, Pope Francis).