Knock Shrine: A place of peace
and faith renewal
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| The Knock Shrine in Ireland. |
As the people of Knock in Ireland await the visit of Pope
Francis, the Rector of the Marian Shrine looks back on its history and this
place of pilgrimage today.
By Lydia O’Kane
On the 21st August 1879 fifteen people in
the village of Knock in the West of Ireland witnessed an Apparition that would
change their lives. For two hours in the pouring rain they watched as Our Lady,
St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, a Lamb and cross on an altar at the gable
wall of the Parish Church appeared to them.
The villagers recalled seeing a beautiful vision of Mary
with a white cloak and crown while St Joseph was also wearing white while
standing on the right of the Blessed Virgin.
Following the apparition an ecclesiastical Commission of
inquiry was established that same year which found the testimonies
of those who witnessed the scene to be sound and trustworthy.
Nearly 140 years on from that well documented event,
the place of the apparitions is now a National Shrine and Basilica honouring
Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland which welcomes thousands of pilgrims every
year.
Pope John Paul II at Knock
One such pilgrim was the first Pope to come to Ireland, St
John Paul II who visited the Marian Shine one hundred years after the
apparition on a rainy autumn day in 1979.“ In words to the villagers
of Knock and the people of Ireland, he said, “Queen of Ireland, Mary Mother of
the heavenly and earthly Church, a Mháthair Dé, keep Ireland true to her
spiritual tradition and her Christian heritage. Help her to respond to her
historic mission of bringing the light of Christ to the nations, and so making
the glory of God be the honour of Ireland.”
For the Rector of the Shrine, Fr Richard Gibbons , the
apparition scene links in very well with the upcoming World Meeting of Families
which will take place from August 21st to 26th and
describes Pope Francis’ visit to the Shrine as a “moment of personal devotion”
both to Our Lady and to St Joseph.”
He also calls the apparition “unique”, adding that ”it’s one
of the most sophisticated and complex witnessed”.
Knock Shrine today
Over the last few year this National Shrine has undergone a
radical overhaul that has seen a project called “Witness to Hope” being
launched” which includes faith renewal and retreat programmes throughout the
year.
Asked about what pilgrims experience when they come to
Knock, Fr Gibbons says that the feedback they get is that, “people want that
sense of peace, but also a sense of where they can engage in a very normal way
with renewing their spirituality and their faith”.
In addition to the day to day activities, the Shrine has its
own archive which documents events that occurred at the time. In a
heartwarming story Fr Gibbons recalls that only recently the remains of the
youngest visionary John Curry were found in New York in a paupers grave in Long
Island. With the help of Cardinal Timothy Dolan his remains were transferred to
Old St Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
As the people of Knock remember the 1979
Papal visit and await the arrival of Pope Francis, the Rector comments that the
visit of a Pope gives a sense of what we belong to, that the Church is
bigger than ourselves, it’s bigger than Ireland and that we are part of a
worldwide community…” The visit, he says, “gives a lift”… adding that, “we hope
that Knock will play an enormous role in the renewal of the Church in the
country as well, and the renewal of faith.”
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