Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (7) - Day 2

After Mass in the Church of Sant'Eustachio for the feast of All Saints, our pilgrims made their way up the Via della Dogana Vecchia to the Church of San Luigi dei Franchesi. This is another of the National Churches of Rome that we visited on the feast of All Saints. Having passed across the Piazza Navona we visited Santa Maria dell'Anima of the Germans and San Nicola dei Lorenesi and then passed down the Vicolo della Pace to enter the Teatro of Santa Maria della Pace, built under our friend Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere and completed under our dear friend Pope Alexander VII Chigi. Santa Maria dell'Anima

Santa Maria della Pace

We made our way down the way of Peace to the Via del Governo Vecchio, part of the old Via Papale, the main thoroughfare of Papal Rome, and down to the Chiesa Nuova, the new Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, the home of the Oratorians and the tomb of St. Philip Neri.

Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (2) - Opening Mass in the Minerva

Meeting in the Vatican
Our pilgrimage to Rome works on several levels.  It is a visit to the tombs of the Apostles and the other Saints of Rome.  It is an occasion to spend time together in prayer as a group.  It is an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and culture of Rome, to see with our own eyes our heritage as Catholics in living as well as in static form.  It is a journey to honour the See of Peter and Our Holy Father the Pope.  As a journey to experience the Catholic culture of Rome and to honour the Holy See, an important element of our pilgrimage is always to pay our respects to officials of the Holy See.  This year, a few of the pilgrims had the honour to begin our first day, just before Mass, with an audience with the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Archbishop Arthur Roche.

Mass in the Minerva
The first Mass of the 2017 Catholic Heritage Association Pilgrimage to Rome took place in the Sacristy Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, that is, the Basilica of Our Lady built over the ruins of the Temple of Minerva.  During our 2008 Pilgrimage we had the privilege of having Mass in the beautiful Capranica Chapel dedicated to the Holy Rosary (see here).  This year, continuing our quest 'boldly to go where few men have gone before,' we were granted an even greater privilege to have Mass in the small Chapel of Saint Catherine of Siena, which is the actual room in which Saint Catherine died, and which is to be found behind the wonderful Sacristy of the Basilica (see here), the site of at least two Papal Conclaves.

The Chapel was rebuilt on this site in 1637 on the initiative of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, using the original walls of the room in a nearby house where the Saint died in 1380.  The house itself is now the site of the Palazzo di Santa Chiara on the Via Santa Chiara and the space left by the room is now itself a Chapel (see here) called Santa Caterina da Siena in Transito.

The Cardinal also had the frescoes attributed to Antoniazzo Romano and his assistants placed in the Sacristy Chapel, which had originally had been in the left arm of the transept.  Over the Altar, the Crucifixion and the Saints, on the left wall, the Annunciation with Ss. Jerome and Onofrio, and on the right wall, the Resurrection with Ss. Lucy and Augustine.

The Altar was erected by Pope Benedict XIII, himself a Dominican who is buried in the Chapel of St. Dominic in the left hand transept of the Basilica, decorated by the Filippo Raguzzini on the instructions of the same Pope Benedict XIII.

Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (1) - Opening Vespers and Benediction

The annual pilgrimage to Rome of the Catholic Heritage Association began this evening with Vespers of the Little Office of the Immaculate Conception and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception was, as usual, the thread of prayer that joined together the various visits and ceremonies of the Pilgrimage.  The Hours of the Little Office were recited during the course of each day of the Pilgrimage.

We returned this year to the Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, where we had stayed in 2003. The Istituo is one of the most spectacular and memorable places to stay in Rome. The Catholic Heritage Association always favours religious houses as the base for international pilgrimages and was pleased to have the opportunity to return to the Istituto. The House is run by the Sisters of Charity of the Infant Mary, founded in Milan by Saints Vincenza Gerosa and Bartolomea Capitanio, both members of the Sodality of Our Lady. It is a modern building in a part of the medieval Leonine fortifications surrounding the Vatican and is on Vatican Extraterritorial property. The views from the fourth floor terrace are legendary.

August 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

National Latin Mass Pilgrimage to Armagh 2017

To mark the 10th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum the Catholic Heritage Association of Ireland made our second pilgrimage to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.  A report of the first pilgrimage can be read here.  It was a truly National Pilgrimage with members coming from Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Wexford and Wicklow - the Four Provinces of Ireland all represented - to assist at Holy Mass and attend our Annual General Meeting held afterwards in the Synod Hall attached to the Cathedral.

However, one element of the pilgrimage above all made it a most blessed occasion, the presence of His Eminence Seán, Cardinal Brady, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh, to celebrate the Mass.  In his homily, Cardinal Brady reminded the congregation that the Traditional Latin Mass had been the Mass of his Altar service, of his First Communion and Confirmation, and of his Ordination and his First Mass.  He also reminded us that this day, the feast of St. John the Baptist, was his own feast day.  Cardinal Brady is to attend the Consistory on 28th June with Our Holy Father, Pope Francis.  His Eminence was assisted by Fr. Aidan McCann, C.C., who was ordained in the Cathedral only two years ago.  It was a great privilege and joy for the members and friends of the Catholic Heritage Association to share so many grace-filled associations with Cardinal Brady and Fr. McCann and the Armagh Cathedral community.

July 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

June 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

May 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

The Weeping Madonna of Gyor

The Chapel of Saint Anne, Gyor

In a Chapel dedicated to Saint Anne in the Cathedral of Gyor in Hungary is enshrined a crowned image of Our Lady and the Child Jesus. It is known as the Irish Madonna. The image had once hung in the Cathedral of Clonfert.

It was saved from the maurading Cromwellian forces by Walter Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert, who had escaped from imprisonment on Innisboffin in 1649 and was able, three years later to flee into exile with the painting.

In his exile he met Bishop János Puski of Gyor who made him a member of his Cathedral Chapter in 1655, saving him from destitution. Bishop Lynch died in 1663, leaving the Madonna to Bishop Puski, who had it placed for the veneration of the faithful in the Cathedral.

The Irish Madonna of Gyor

On 17th March, 1697, the feast of Saint Patrick, the Madonna began to weep tears of blood from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. The picture was removed and the wall examined and found to be dry. The phenomenon was attested to by hundreds of people including Count Seigebert Hester, Captain General of the City, the Bishop, and even by Lutheran and Calvinist Ministers and a Jewish Rabbi. The Captain General and his wife had a shrine built for the Irish Madonna and established a fund to ensure Benediction and the Litany were celebrated before it every Saturday and Feast of Our Lady.

On the 250th Anniversary of the miraculous weeping the Bishops of Hungary came to venerate the Madonna and do so every years on 17th March. For the Marian Year in 1997 a Papal Legate was sent to the shrine, which was raised to the status of Minor Basilica. The Basilica also contains the tombs of St. Ladislaus I and Blessed Vilmos Apor. St. John Paul II prayed at the shrine of the Irish Madonna on his visit to Hungary. The Hungarians have spread devotion to the Irish Madonna of Gyor across the world, especially across the United States of America.

April 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

March 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

February 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

January 2017 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

December 2016 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

November 2016 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

October 2016 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

September 2016 Monthly Latin Mass in Knock

The titular patrons of Churches in the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora

Galway Cathedral was consecrated on 15th August, 1965.  Under the rubrics of the Gregorian Rite it is a I class feast throughout the Diocese.  The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora consists of thirty-nine parishes, grouped into five deaneries, covering parts of counties Galway, Clare and Mayo.

It is not surprising that the devotion of the Irish people to Our Lady is giving a very concrete expression in the patronage of Churches in the Diocese.

Our Lord
Eight Churches have titles dedicated to Our Lord: Church of the Resurrection, Ballinfoyle; Good Shepherd Church, Doughiska Road; Sacred Heart Church, Seamus Quirke Road, Christ the King, Salthill; Corpus Christi, Lisdoonvarna; the Holy Family, Mervue; Séipéal an Ioncolaithe, Rosmuc; The Nativity, Kilchreest.

Our Lady
Twenty Churches are dedicated to Our Lady under various titles, including the Assumption three times, the Immaculate Conception six times and Our Lady of Lourdes twice: Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven & St Nicholas; The Assumption and Saint James, Claregalway; An Deastógáil, Camus; Immaculate Conception, Moycullen; Immaculate Conception, Oranmore; Immaculate Conception, Oughterard; Immaculate Conception, Glencorrib; Immaculate Conception, Collinamuck; Church of the Immaculate Conception, Lahinch; Our Lady of Lourdes, Toovahera; Ban Tiarna Lourdes agus Naomh Colmcille, Leitirmóir; Saint Mary on the Hill, Claddagh; Our Lady of the Valley, Glann; Mary Immaculate Queen, Barna; Immaculate Heart of Mary, Killanin; the Annunciation, Clarinbridge; Holy Rosary, Doolin; Cill Mhuire, Na Minna; Holy Family, Mervue; Church of Our Lady & St Michael, Ennistymon

The Saints
Of the Saints having Churches in the Diocese dedicated to them, St. Columba and St. Colman are joint favourites with five each: Saint Columba, Castlegar; Saint Columba, Kilbeacanty; Saint Columba, Carron; Church of St Columba, Clouna; Ban Tiarna Lourdes agus Naomh Colmcille, Leitirmóir; Saint Colman, Ballinderreen; Saint Colman, Craughwell; Saint Colman, Gort Saint Colman, Tierneevan; Saint Colman, Kinvara.

Saint Joseph is next with five dedications (including the Holy Family): Saint Joseph, Maree; Saint Joseph, Presentation Road; Saint Joseph, Shrule; Saint Joseph, Kinvara; Holy Family, Mervue.

Our National Apostle, with three dedications, is equal in number with the Spanish St. Teresa of Avila, perhaps reflecting a Spanish connection with Galway: Saint Patrick, Forster Street; Saint Patrick, Murrough; Saint Patrick, New Quay; Saint Teresa of Avila, Ardrahan; Cill Treasa, Ros a' Mhíl; Saint Teresa, Castledaly.

Saint Brigid, with two dedications, shares that with Saint Attracta and, perhaps surprisingly, Saint Augustine: Saint Brigid, Ballybane; Saint Brigid, Liscannor; Saint Attracta, Kiltartan; Saint Attracta, Kiltoraght; Saint Augustine, Middle Street; Saint Augustine, Kilshanny.

The remaining Saints have only one dedication each: Church of Our Lady & St Michael, Ennistymon; Saint John the Baptist, Ballyvaughan; Saint Ann, Beagh; Saint Thomas Apostle, Peterswell; The Assumption and Saint James, Claregalway; Saint John the Apostle, Knocknacarra; Saint Flannan, Moymore; Saint Kieran, Durus; Saint Moucha, Noughaval; Cill Éinde, An Spidéal; Saint Fachanan, Kilfenora; Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven & St Nicholas; Saint Oliver Plunkett, Renmore; Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis Street, Galway.

It would appear that the Church in Gort Mór has no specific dedication.