Friday, March 12, 2010

Record crowds attend Fermanagh novena

The rector of the Graan Passionist monastery in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Fr Brian D'Arcy c.p. has reported unprecedented interest this year in an annual novena held there.

Fr D’Arcy said that some 10,000 people will have attended the Novena of Hope in honour of St Gabriel, by the time it concludes next Monday (March 15).

He said that at the moment, job losses and disillusionment with the Church were the two main themes which ran through people's minds when calling for hope.

Guest speakers include sports broadcaster Jimmy Magee, Bishop Willie Walsh of Killaloe and prominent Passionist Fr Gary Donegan, rector of their house in Ardoyne, Belfast.

Fr D’Arcy said that such was the interest in getting good seats at the novena ceremony, the monastery chapel was filled up to an hour before Mass was due to start. And as well as unprecedented numbers of people, the 2010 Novena was also remarkable for the distances some of them travelled, he added.

"A taxi load came from Kilnaleck in Cavan, a family came from Cong, there were families from Connemara, Kells and Mullingar and also one woman who had come from Bristol in England for three days."

People seemed to need the Novena more than ever this year, Fr D’Arcy remarked, because they were "in bad need of hope. “Normally we get three to four thousand letters, but this year, there have been at least 10,000 letters,” he said.

“The postman has said he has never brought as many letters to anybody in his life.”

“There are deep hopeless situations; jobs and disillusionment with the church seem to be the two main things that people are looking for some sort of hope for.
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