Archbishop Charles Brown, speaking at the closing Mass of the National Novena in Knock in Co Mayo, said that the future of the church here begins now.
The Pope's representative said that people's faith has been revitalised by the unforgettable experience of the Congress in June which he says exceeded expectations.
However Archbishop Brown admitted that the road ahead is not an easy one and he says people need to be unafraid to affirm the elements of the Catholic way, which secular society rejects and ridicules.