No Visitations

at

Celebrations for The Feast of the Assumption, which attracts more than 20,000 people to Knock, County Mayo every year, have been cancelled

Going to Knock?

Not so fast, pilgrim.

Via RTÉ

In a statement the rector of Knock Shrine, Fr Richard Gibbons, said the Co Mayo venue will not open for the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August due to the escalation of the virus around the country.

Fr Gibbons said during discussions with church and State bodies it was decided the shrine did not have the resources to deal with the large numbers of people expected.

He said: “As the National Marian Shrine, we have been extra vigilant in living up to our responsibilities amid this pandemic in placing people’s physical and spiritual well-being to the fore.”

Knock Shrine to close for busiest day of the year over virus fears (RTÉ)

Pic: Knock Shrine

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17 thoughts on “No Visitations

  1. Mick

    In fairness, it’s the right thing to do.

    I’ve seen some very worrying photos of beaches and other tourist attractions from over the weekend with such huge crowds that any sort of meaningful social distancing would have been impossible.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      Was up west quite a few years ago, extremely tired, and a long road ahead of me to the south east. I decided to check into a hotel in Knock as it happened.
      The manager was a brother of an old college mate of mine (the mate was a newsreader on RTE) and I knew him as he was in a higher class.
      Anyway, checked in, went to the room (basic, but there was a whip and a cross in there), had a quick rest, and then went down to the bar.
      What bar? After 15 minutes or so, after elbowing myself through many nuns and trainee priests, I eventually was guided to a room which was all wood..wooden floor, wooden walls, and a wooden ceiling, but disguised in the wooden wall was a hatch where you could get a bottle of beer, or 17% proof altar wine (the wine part was a lie)
      Quite an experience. Sad even. Not many there. No session. Early night.

      1. scottser

        I was in that hotel once. You should have stayed up for the nun-wrestling – I made a small fortune betting with the parish priest in Lusk.

  2. GiggidyGoo

    Surely God would keep the faithful safe? A few drops of Holy Water spread with an aspergillum combined with a few prayers would fend off the Covid?

      1. GiggidyGoo

        Ah, sure I’ll have a quick look at The Towering Inferno Ted. :-)

        Although I do find it strange. Say someone gets sick, or even dies if Knock was opened, it would be put down to Gods will, so everything would be grand.

        Also, the feast of the Assumption will be celebrated here at BS by a few I think.

    1. Gary Flood

      So that’s what it’s called. Back (waaaay back) in my altar boy days we called it the “bucket and holy lollipop”. Yes, really.

  3. Paulus

    Back in the 50s/60s it was quite common for a overbearing priest to add Assumpta to the names of a baby girl being baptised by him if the child had been born on or around Aug 15…regardless of the parents’ wishes!

    1. SOQ

      Even worse is The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) up north.

      The now most sectarian and divisive organisation on the island of Ireland.

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