The Covid-19 pandemic has been a particularly difficult time for those who have lost loved ones and have often had to cope with their grief without many of the usual spiritual and community supports.
To pastorally support everyone who has suffered the pain of bereavement during the pandemic, and in the context of the month of November as the traditional time when we remember our dead, on next Sunday, 14 November at 3.00pm, the Bishops of Ireland will undertake a pilgrimage to the International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine in Knock. The bishops will concelebrate Mass for all those who have died in our country during the pandemic, and for their families. At the Mass the bishops will also offer prayers of thanksgiving for all those who so selflessly sacrificed so much during the pandemic. This Mass will be live-streamed on www.knockshrine.ie and broadcast on the RTÉ News Now digital television channel and online.
The bishops invite everyone to join with them in prayer on this solemn occasion.
Bishop Denis will be attending the Mass and has invited Dermot & Pauline Phelan from Baltinglass Parish to represent the diocese. Dermot sadly buried both his parents who died from Covid in early 2021.