Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Woztyla on 8 ... - Knock Shrine

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<strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> Visit to Knock Shrine On Sunday 30 September 1979, a wet and misty day, over half a million people welcomed <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> to Knock. His helicopter touched down on the east side of the Basilica at 3.20pm, slightly later than anticipated. As he alighted from the helicopter he <strong>was</strong> greeted by Archbishop Joseph Cunnane and Monsignor James Horan. The <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>was</strong> then escorted along a specially constructed ramp to the Basilica rooftop where he raised his hands in greeting to the waiting pilgrims. Everywhere in the Basilica <strong>was</strong> alive with excitement as pilgrims, Accompanied by Archbishop Cunnane and Cardinal O’Fiaich, the Holy Father vested in the inner sacristy of the Basilica, assisted by Masters of Ceremonies, Cardinal Noe, and Fr. Joseph Quinn of the Tuam Dioceses. many of them ill and disabled, awaited their first sighting of the Holy Father. As he walked around the altar in the Liturgical procession, he blessed and greeted individual pilgrims before ascending to the altar. He gave a special address for sick people and also for the assembled Stewards and Handmaids of the Knock Shrine Society. The Liturgical procession then moved to the open-air sanctuary for mass. The Holy Father opened his homily by reciting the Hail Mary in Irish and then addressed the crowd with his now famous words ‘Here I am at the goal of my journey to Ireland – the Shrine of Our Lady at Knock’. His homily lasted for forty-two minutes after which he anointed twelve people including 92- year-old Mrs Catherine Horan, mother of Monsignor Horan. The Offertory Procession gifts included water from the Holy Well of Lispatrick in Knock parish, a stone from Croagh Patrick and flowers carried by local first communicants, Siobhán Geraghty and Michael <strong>John</strong>ston. One hundred and five people representing the Tuam Diocese received Holy Communion from the Holy Father. One thousand Ministers of the Eucharist distributed Holy Communion to the Congregation. At the end of Mass the Holy Father announced that the “Church of Our Lady Queen of Ireland” would be designated the title “Basilica of Our Lady Queen of Ireland.” He also presented a Golden Rose symbolic of the high status of Knock Shrine. The Holy Father then proceeded to the Apparition Chapel where he knelt and prayed in silence after which he blessed the statues depicting the Apparition and lit the Family Prayer Candle. Due to fading light it <strong>was</strong> decided that the <strong>Pope</strong> would not travel among the pilgrims as originally planned and so he <strong>was</strong> then driven to the helicopter pad for departure at 7pm. Sunday 30 September 1979, when <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> visited Knock, <strong>was</strong> the single most significant occasion in the history of the Shrine since the Apparition of 1879.
<strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> Preparations for Visit to Knock In 1964, Mrs. Judy Coyne (Knock Shrine Society) on reading of the visit of <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> VI to Bethlehem, wondered if it would be possible that one day he would visit Knock With the centenary of the Knock Apparition still fifteen years away, she formed the idea that this would be the ideal occasion for such a visit. In 1978 the Episcopal Conference in Maynooth issued an official invitation to the newly elected <strong>Pope</strong> to visit Ireland. On 21 July 1979 it <strong>was</strong> officially announced that <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> would visit Ireland. Knock Shrine <strong>was</strong> to be ‘the goal of his journey’. <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong>, 1979 Ref. ‘The <strong>Pope</strong> in Ireland’, Published: Gill & McMillan Ltd. 1979 The National Co-ordination Committee <strong>was</strong> in charge of the majority of arrangements for the Papal Visit to Ireland and they worked closely with the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Joseph Cunnane, who <strong>was</strong> in charge of operations for Knock. With only nine weeks to prepare, there <strong>was</strong> much work to be done. Parish Priest of Knock, Monsignor Horan, priests from the diocese, lay people and countless volunteers all became involved in committees organising every detail from transport, catering, security, media and decorating to liturgy, music and ministers. Fr. Tom Shannon (R.I.P.), secretary to Archbishop Cunnane <strong>was</strong> the general co-coordinator for all committees. Some of the other committee chairpeople included: Fr. Joseph Quinn (now Monsignor), Liturgical Committee; Fr. Frank Fahey, Medical Services Committee; Michael O’Malley, Mayo Co. Manager, Access and Transport Committee; Fr. P. V. O’ Brien, Communications Committee. In order to accommodate the estimated half a million attendance, a thirty-seven acre site <strong>was</strong> cleared and divided into corrals accommodating twelve thousand people, each to have its own First Aid post. Two helicopters and numerous ambulances would be on stand-by for emergencies. New roads were laid down for the ‘<strong>Pope</strong>mobile’. No cars were to be allowed into the village for the duration so lands on the approach roads to Knock were to be opened up to facilitate parking. An automatic telephone exchange, press-centre, darkrooms, and additional phone lines were installed to facilitate media coverage and communications. The Army, Gardaí, County Council, Civil Defence, Order of Malta, Red Cross, Knock Shrine Handmaids and Stewards were all to be involved in crowd security. Only people, including officiating priests, sick people etc., with official identification cards issued by the Gardaí would be allowed access to special areas during the visit. Knock Shrine and village also had to be prepared aesthetically for the <strong>Pope</strong>’s visit. One of the most important tasks to be undertaken <strong>was</strong> the design and erection of an outdoor Papal altar. The altar, featuring an image of the Last Supper, came from the Cathedral Church of St. Mel’s in Longford. A large cross <strong>was</strong> also erected as a permanent commemoration of the visit. By Sunday 30 September, Knock Shrine and grounds were transformed. Pilgrims had begun to arrive the afternoon before and by nightfall thousands of people had assembled to await the arrival of <strong>Pope</strong> <strong>John</strong> <strong>Paul</strong> <strong>II</strong> to Knock – an event never to be forgotten.
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Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Woztyla on 8 ... - Knock Shrine

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