350 couples await Pope
Francis’ visit to St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
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| St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin. |
Pope Francis awaits a meeting he specifically requested with
engaged and newly married couples, and 350 Irish couples await his visit.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
The first pastoral portion of Pope Francis’ Apostolic
Journey to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families will
occur on Saturday afternoon when he visits Dublin's St Mary's
Pro-Cathedral. There he will meet with 350 engaged and newly
married couples.
Fr Kieran Mc Dermott, the newly-appointed administrator of
Dublin’s St Mary's Pro Cathedral spoke with Vatican News about what will happen
during this event and about the importance of St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral for the
people of Ireland.
Pope scheduled this visit!
The meeting with engaged and newly married couples is taking
place specifically at the request of Pope Francis, Fr Mc Dermott said. Couples
from every diocese in Ireland will be present.
Before the Pope’s arrival, the couples will participate in a
90-minute pastoral program based on chapter 4 of the Apostolic
Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
What will happen during the visit
When the Pope arrives, he will first spend a few silent
prayerful moments before the altar dedicated in 2010 to survivors of institutional
and clerical abuse. Afterward, a couple celebrating their golden jubilee, who
are contemporaries of the Pope, will greet him in the name of all present. Then
two couples will present the Pope with questions to which he will respond.
Fr Mc Dermott foresees that Pope Francis will address the
meaning of married love today…the vocation of the
family today. He is speaking to the next generation of Irish families…. We
don’t know what he’s going to say, but we’re really looking forward to what he
has to say to us, and what we can learn from him also from the experience of
his own family life which he often refers to.
St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
Fr Mc Dermott explained that Dublin’s Cathedral is
relatively modern because Ireland was impacted “hugely” by the English
Reformation. St Mary’s was built after Archbishop Troy established a building
commission around 1803 and Dubliners raised money. The Cathedral was blessed in
1825 by Archbishop Daniel Murray on the Feast of St Laurence O’Toole, the
principal feast of the Archdiocese. It is located in the north of Dublin’s
inner city in a poor neighborhood. “The people of Dublin have a great affection
and love for the Pro-Cathedral”, Fr Mc Dermott said. He also explained that is
has “hosted some significant events, such as state funerals”.
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