Father David in Knock

The story of Knock began on Thursday evening of the August 21, 1879. Our Lady, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. Beside them and a little to their left was an altar with a cross and the figure of a lamb, around which angels hovered. There were fifteen official witnesses to the apparition – young and old – who watched and prayed for two hours in the pouring rain. No words were spoken. This apparition came at a time of great suffering for the Irish, many had died because of famine and many had abandoned their homeland. See the website of the shrine here

The annual novena attracts thousands of pilgrims. This year, the shrine’s chaplain, Father Richard Gibbons, invited Father David to preach on the theme “Faith – a personal journey” during the two main masses in the large Basilica on the first day of the Novena on August 14. Father David also gave two seminars entitled “Speaking the Language of Jesus”. This was an occasion to raise consciousness among Irish Catholics about the Church in the Holy Land and the Middle East, the challenges, trials and hopes of Christians and the role of Hebrew speaking Christians.