Our Lady of Knock

July 25, 2013

The 1879 apparition in County Mayo — fifteen witnesses, a silent vision of light beings and angels, and the extraordinary pilgrimage tradition that has drawn the faithful ever since. (4 min read)

I never dreamed I would become a pilgrim, let alone one that visits Marian shrines. But I have been to several in the last couple of years and, on this trip, we have visited one in each country – Our Lady of Walsingham (UK), Our Lady of Pompeii (Italy) and the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal (France). Today, my mother and I visited the National Marian Shrine of Ireland in Knock.

Knock, in County Mayo, is a very small town in the west of Ireland, over an hour’s drive from Galway. The main business in the town has been servicing pilgrims since the 1880’s. Prior to that, it was a very poor farming community.

In 1879, fifteen people from Knock, aged 5 to 74 years were witness to the materialisation of three light beings, several angels and an unusual symbology (an altar with a lamb and a cross on it) for about 2 hours. The incident was investigated twice, the witnesses found to be credible and their stories were accepted by the Vatican. News of the incident spread quickly and pilgrims started coming almost immediately. Many cures were reported by pilgrims during or after visiting the shrine, the most recent reported case being in 1989.

Today the site of the apparition is encased in a glass church, with the figures arranged as described by the witnesses. This has been beautifully and lovingly executed. The site also now includes a very large basilica – while looking like it was built by soviets, I found it very highly energised. The grounds and gardens are lovely and there is a very nice little museum that tells the story of the apparitions, the pilgrims and the shrine.

Our visit was perfectly timed and we were able to make some important prayers here.

If you are in Ireland, please consider visiting this special place.