Friday, August 21, 2009

Faith Alive

A summer of religious devotion has swept across Ireland with record attendances at faith events, festivals and pilgrimages.

Ireland's best known pilgrimage destination, Lough Derg, has experienced visitor numbers not seen since the height of its popularity in the 1980s.

The Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Clonmacnoise last week also experienced record crowds when 1,000 young people gathered for a weekend of prayer and fun, while the Knock Youth festival last month attracted 500 youngsters.

Last weekend's annual celebration for the Feast of the Assumption at Ladywell, Co. Laois attracted upwards of 1,000 people.

A surge in numbers attending the on-going Knock Novena is being predicted by organisers who expect a record attendance of 200,000 people.

Further afield, the pilgrimage sites at Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje continue to be the top destinations with Joe Walsh Tours.

Overall, Irish pilgrims to Medjugorje are second only to Italians in terms of annual numbers visiting.

Meanwhile, last week it was announced that pilgrim numbers at the island retreat at Lough Derg were 10 per cent up on last year.

The Bishop of Clogher Joseph Duffy said by the close of that season, over 8,500 people had participated in the gruelling three-days of prayer, fasting and sleep deprivation.

He pointed to the first-ever televised Mass from the island on July 29 as a factor in attracting more pilgrims to the island.

Significantly, numbers of first-time visitors to Lough Derg have also shown an increase.

According to Prior Monsignor Richard Mohan, first-time visitors this year accounted for approximately 18 per cent of the increased pilgrims figure.

For the island retreat, the 2009 pilgrimage season has proved the busiest since the 1980s.
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