Fr. John Joe Duffy of Creeslough has been given the honour of leading the Knock National Novena today as the first guest speaker.
He will be speaking at the County Mayo shrine at both 3pm and 8pm.
Fr. John Joe Duffy was praised for his compassion and care when he tended to the community of Creeslough, following the explosion that claimed the lives of 10 people in October.
He gave pastoral care to both grieving families and the recovery teams and officiated at most of the funerals.
This year’s National Novena will take the theme of “Caring for Creation”, with workshops, screenings of The Letter and a popular family day to offer an experience “as varied and as attractive as possible”, according to parish priest Fr Richard Gibbons.
“There’s nothing like a personal story,” Fr Gibbons told The Tablet. “You can see it with the congregation in the basilica when a story hits home.”
He said that the speakers, who include bishops and individuals working in initiatives on synodality and stewarding creation, would offer a “lived expression of faith”.
There will also be tours of the 100-acre grounds of the shrine led by the staff of Knock Museum, explaining the history of the apparition – of Our Lady, St Joseph, St John the Evangelist and an altar, cross and lamb – witnessed by 15 villagers on 21 August 1879.
The twice-daily novena ceremonies, at 3pm and 8pm in Knock Basilica, will have a sign language interpreter present on 15 and 21 August.
Fr Gibbons said that the shrine needed to present itself to people who “might not know Knock is, or might not have heard about it since they were at school”. The novena would welcome those “who just come in out of curiosity”, he said.
Pilgrim numbers in Knock have been “excellent” this year, Fr Gibbons said, following a slow post-Covid 2022 for the County Mayo shrine.
The shrine offers a sense of the Church which people do not encounter in their everyday, Fr Gibbons continued. It provides “a respite – a retreat – away from the madding crowd”.
“We don’t examine what level of faith you have when you come here, but something might strike you,” he said. It is “a space that imposes nothing on you, wants nothing from you”, but nevertheless leads people to participate.
Fr Gibbons noted the many visitors who receive the sacrament of reconciliation at the shrine after years’ delay. Confessions, he said, remain “the powerhouse of Knock”.
The Raphoe Diocese Pilgrimage will take place on Saturday 19th August. Bishop Alan McGuckian,SJ will be speaking during the 3pm concelebrated mass in the Basilica.
A bus will leave the Cathedral car park at 7.30am on Saturday, heading for Knock Shrine via Ballybofey. Everyone is welcome to attend and are asked to bring a packed lunch.
For more details, contact 087 4324464.
