You are welcome to browse through the various parish events; we hope you enjoy this glimpse of our parish life and people. We intend to add more recent parish events so let us know what you would like to see featured.

The Eucharistic Procession, which has a long tradition of respect and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, took place through our village on June 3rd. The sun shone brightly as the large congregation, made up of all ages, gathered.  It was delightful to see the communion children participating in this wonderful ceremony. The procession left the church,led by the Carrigaline Pipe Band, and made its way through Main St. to Mount Rivers where the estate had been excellently prepared by the local residents.  It was a most profound display of faith and love from the people of Carrigaline for the Body of Christ.

We owe the feast of Corpus Christi to a Belgian nun, St.Juliana of Cornillon.  At first, it was celebrated only in her convent, but it proved so popular that within a few years Pope Urban IV extended it to the universal Church and commissioned the leading theologian of the time, St.Thomas Aquinas, to compose a Mass and office for its celebration.  The procession with the Blessed Sacrament became a popular feature of the celebration.  The feast of Corpus Christi is an opportunity to think about the Eucharist and what it means, and for each of us to ask God for a deeper love for this great Sacrament of Love.

CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION HELD AT CARRIGALINE

The priest had donned the cope and veil,
The acolyte all set,
To bare the cross and lead the way,
But they must pause just yet,

For hundreds still keep lining up
Their homage for to pay,
To Philomenas hallowed park,
To walk with Christ this day.

The pipe band plays, the choir sings,
Professions of our faith.
Reciting Mary’s rosary,
Priest and people alternate.

The canopy is lifted up
Above the monstrance high,
Each searching soul revels in love,
As Christ is borne by.

Oh! let us with our Bishops pray,
That violent deeds may cease
Remember we’ll be judged one day,
By Christ the Prince of Peace.

This poem was written by the late Simon Jeffords, who lived opposite the Grotto on Cork Rd; and is included in his book “Poems by Simon Jeffords” which was published in 1992.

The reference to “Philomenas” is Philomenas Terrace where the Procession went to from the Church during the 60’s and 70’s. Each year a large altar was erected on the roadside opposite No.9 (Mrs. Ahern’s house) and the congregation knelt and prayed in the two “greens” (playing areas), as they were known to the residents.Bunting crossed the road from house to house, papal flags hung from windows and altars were to be seen in the windows of every home.

This year’s pilgrimage to Knock will take place on Saturday 20th July and Sunday 21st July. The coach will leave Carrigaline at 9.30 on Saturday morning with a stop for lunch on the way at the West County Hotel in Ennis.  The group will have dinner and overnight in Knock House Hotel.  The pilgrims participate in all the ceremonies in Knock returning home on Sunday evening calling at the West County Hotel for dinner.  The all-inclusive cost per person sharing is €140. To book contact Aislinn 4372035 / 087 9699 48, Mary 4371025 or Mary 4373316

In association with the Carrigaline Allotment group, we held the blessing of the fruits of the earth with a display of produce grown locally.  This short ceremony consisted of prayers, songs, readings and a blessing. This year the ceremony had to be held in the church due to the inclement weather. Canon Bertie officiated and was assisted by Rev. Elaine Murray.  The music and singing was provided by our excellent Folk Group. 

Sunday May 22nd. 2011

Forty-seven pilgrims, under the guidance of Spiritual Director Fr.Bertie O’Mahony, left Cork Airport at 12.30 pm bound for Lourdes famous for the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette Soubirous which occurred in 1858.  Although the flight was two hours late everybody was in good spirits in anticipation of an enriching experience. After settling into the Astoria Hotel we attended mass at 5.00 pm in the Seven Dolors Chapel. After dinner pilgrims made there way to the Crypt for Holy Hour at 8.30 pm.  The Crypt was the first sanctuary to be built in 1866 and the long entrance tunnel is lined with marble inscriptions, offered in thanksgiving for miracles and prayers answered at Lourdes. From there we made our way to the Grotto, as we would do on several other occasions during our stay. This is truly a special place of prayer.  It’s like a magnet, no matter how tired or leg weary you may be, one is drawn to this place to stay a while in silent prayer.

                     
                        Group at Basilica.

Monday May 23rd. 2011

Today mass was celebrated in the Poor Clare Convent which is opposite the Astoria Hotel. After mass we were taken on a walking tour of Lourdes by our guide, Amanda.  Our first stop was at Boly Mill where Bernadette was born on Jan.7th.1844.  Her parents, Louise and François, were the tenants of this mill. Bernadette spent a happy childhood here but the failure of her father’s business obliged the family to leave this comfortable house in June 1854.  Next stop was the Cachot, an abandoned jail when the Soubirous family moved in after they were ruined in business at the Boly Mill. It was whilst living here that Bernadette experienced the apparitions. The single room the family occupied was dark and cold. From here we moved on to Maison Paternelle, a house provided by the Mayor of Lourdes for Bernadette’s family in the aftermath of the apparitions. This house is a popular site for pilgrims because it is one of the rare opportunities you get to visit the ordinary home of someone who has been in relatively recent terms canonised a saint.  Our tour ended with a visit to The Basilica, an imposing building built on the rock known as Massabielle. Amanda explained that the Basilica is actually three separate churches built at different times. When first seeing it from across the River Gave, one would think the churches were built from the bottom upwards. The Crypt in the middle was actually the first built and the Rosary Basilica at the bottom was built last. Our final event of the day was the Blessed Sacrament Procession which takes place each day at 5.00 pm from the Crypt to the Underground Basilica of St. Pius X.  Here pilgrims carried the parish banner along with the Papal and Irish flags.

                     
                        Pilgrims take part in the Blessed Sacrament Procession.

Tuesday May 24th. 2011

This morning pilgrims made their way to the Grotto for 8.30 am mass which Fr.Bertie concelebrated. Also present were pilgrims from two other Irish dioceses, Ossory and Raphoe.  After mass some pilgrims did the High Stations while others did the Low Stations.  The High Stations are nearly one mile in length following a rough stony track.  The journey starts from the entrance, which faces the upper basilica. There are 15 large stations all with larger than life bronze statues, depicting the various stages of Jesus’ last journey. The Low Stations are much gentler to make and are situated across the River Gave and are suitable for wheelchair users or anyone with walking difficulties. The Torchlight Procession was our final event of the day.  This procession takes place each evening at 9.00 pm as it has done since 1872 and begins from the Grotto and ends in the square in front of the Rosary Basilica. Between torches, pilgrims carry a statue of Our Lady.  During the Procession, the pilgrims walk in groups behind their pilgrimage banner. Everyone is invited to carry a lighted candle in his or her hand – a reminder of Baptism. At the end of the Procession, the Priests and Bishops present give the Blessing.

                         
                             
                            Pilgrims praying at the High Stations

Wednesday May 25th. 2011

Today’s mass was once again at 8.30 am at the Grotto.  This morning was a very special one for our parish and pilgrims as Fr.Bertie delivered the homily, two members of our group read the readings and our choir provided the music and singing.  A unique experience and one felt very privileged to be part of the occasion.  After mass we took the short bus journey to Cite Saint – Pierre (City of the Poor) that was established in 1955.  To be accepted in the Cité Saint-Pierre, it is necessary to come to Lourdes, on pilgrimage, to be considered to be living in a situation of material, moral and spiritual poverty, not to have the means to pay for a hotel. Each year, more than 1000 volunteer helpers spend three weeks of their time helping in the Cité. For pilgrims, the normal pilgrimage is from 2 to 5 days.  Here Fr.Bertie celebrated our second mass of the day in a lovely little church called the Sheep Fold and all in attendance were blessed with holy oils.  In the afternoon some of the group opted for the bus tour to Gavarnie.  This village lies in the central Pyrenees, on the French side of the Franco-Spanish frontier and the scenery of the area is truly stunning. At an elevation of 4,452 feet it was a resting place in medieval times for pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, which is one of the chief shrines of Christendom.  After dinner we walked in procession from our hotel to the Grotto carrying two large candles, one for the living of the parish the other for the dead, which each pilgrim got an opportunity to carry.  On arrival these candles were lit by pilgrims and will burn there for a number of weeks.

                           
                                 
                                    Fr.Bertie delivers homily at Grotto.

Thursday May 26th. 2011

As we journey by bus today the little village of Betharram is our first stop. This was a place of pilgrimage for over 160 year before Lourdes. This was attributed to the number of miracles that happened in the area and Bernadette would have been brought here on pilgrimage herself as a child. The statue of St.Roch who was born in 1285 of French nobility and with a natural affinity for the poor and sick stands close to the church entrance.  From here our coach brought us to Bartres where Bernadette lived during the second year of her childhood in 1844 and returned here in 1857 for a few months when she was 13.  Mass was celebrated in the Church of John the Baptist which was built in a Romanesque style in the 14th.century. Before returning to the coach pilgrims visited a café to sample Barry’s Tea, which was on offer there.  Our last stop on this trip was at the Ukranian Catholic Church in Lourdes.  It was built 27 years ago to service visiting Ukranian groups and other groups aligned to the Roman Catholic Church. The most distinctive element of the church is the sacred partition, covered with icons, that sets apart the sanctuary from the rest of the church. This is a reminder that the sanctuary with the alter is really and truly the Holy Place.

                     
                          Interior of the Ukranian Catholic Church.                                             

Friday May 27th. 2011

Where have the last five days gone?  That was everyone’s thought as we arrived at the breakfast table this morning. This was our last day on pilgrimage so after breakfast we crossed the road from our hotel to the Poor Clare Convent where Fr.Bertie celebrated our final mass.  After mass pilgrims had the remainder of the day to do whatever pleased them.  We departed our hotel at 6.30 pm and after a pleasant flight arrived safely in Cork at 11.30 pm.

There is so much to see and do in Lourdes that everyone makes the most of their time during their stay. We were privileged that we had a very enriching, successful and enjoyable pilgrimage, mainly due to the very good and dedicated leadership of Fr.Bertie.  We thank him most sincerely.  Our thanks also to the co-ordinators for organizing such a pleasant pilgrimage.

 
                 
                    Pilgrims gather outside the Poor Clare Convent before final mass.