On 5 November, in the Risen Christ Church, Kiltoom, Co Roscommon in the Diocese of Elphin, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin celebrated Mass to mark the conclusion of the visit of the relics of Saint Bernadette to Ireland.
In his homily, Bishop Doran said, “I want to warmly welcome Father Michel Daubanes and his two colleagues who have joined us here for this Mass of farewell. Through them, I send our greetings and thanks to Monsignor Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes, for his kindness in facilitating this pilgrimage of the Relics of Saint Bernadette.
“In her gentle and humble way, Mary asked Bernadette, ‘Please do me the honour of coming here for two weeks.’ Saint Bernadette has done us the honour of coming here for two months. Her presence among us has been such a blessing for the many thousands of people in every Diocese, who came to pray during these recent weeks.
“On behalf of all of the Bishops, as we come to the end of this wonderful time of grace, I thank all the volunteers in each Diocese who have worked so hard to make this visit of the Relics so successful from both a practical and spiritual point of view. I take this opportunity to thank all of our pilgrimage directors who work so hard during the year to facilitate our pilgrimages to Lourdes.
Bishop Doran concluded, “In the words of Our Lady, I encourage many of you who have prayed with the Relics in recent weeks, to come on pilgrimage to Lourdes in the future if you can. In a particular way, I invite many young people to join us and to participate in the Diocesan teams which support the liturgy and care for the assisted pilgrims. God bless you all.”
Visit CatholicBishops.ie to read the full text of Bishop Doran’s homily and to watch the accompanying video.
ENDS
