Holy Week and Easter Retreat in Ireland

Because I’m serving alone in a location far removed from our other friaries, part of my special missionary assignment in Sudan includes spending Holy Week and participating in the annual Easter Week retreat with our friars in England and Ireland, as well as making a trip to the US once a year in the late summer/early fall. Last year I was in England at this time, this year I had the blessing of visiting Ireland.

Fr. Fidelis showing us Derry from the view of the city's wall. In the background is St. Eugene's Cathedral, and further on the snow-covered mountains.

When our flight was approaching the airport in Belfast on March 30 we were informed by the pilot that it had been temporarily closed due to heavy snow – snow! After spending almost two hours on the runway in Dublin, we were informed that the Belfast airport had reopened and landed there close to midnight. The snow created another obstacle, however: heavy drifting had blocked the Glenshane Pass through the mountains between Derry and Belfast. After six hours on the road trying to get through Fr. Fidelis had to turn back. Fortunately (on the third try) I was finally able to find a place to stay the night in Antrim near Belfast. The next morning Br. Patrick picked me up and we drove through a winter wonderland of white blanketed hills and snow-laden pine trees.

Derry

I celebrated the Paschal Triduum at the new friary of St. Columba in Derry, which just opened a few months ago. Derry is an ancient walled city known for its historical conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. Long ago the Protestants in Derry resisted the attempt of the Catholic King James II of England to take control of the city and aligned themselves instead with William of Orange. More recently Derry was the scene of much violence between the IRA and British forces. On "Bloody Sunday" in January of 1972 thirteen unarmed participants in a civil rights march were gunned down by British troops there. Some of them are memorialized on murals painted on buildings in the city. The 1998 Good Friday Belfast agreement established a lasting peace and opened the way for power sharing, although sadly there has been some recent acts of violence by an extremist IRA splinter group.

One of the murals commemorating the victims of Bloody Sunday.

On Easter Sunday evening we travelled to the Capuchin friary and retreat house in Ards, Donegal located on the northwest coast of the island near Creeslough and Letterkenny. We had a great retreat led by Fr. Pat Deegan, an Irish priest serving in Manchester England. The weather was cold and rainy at first, but as the week went on it got warmer and sunnier. One evening I had the opportunity to share a little about the Sudan mission with the friars on retreat.

The Capuchin friary and retreat house at Ards.

The coast of the inlet from the sea near the friary.

The friars with our retreat director, Fr. Pat Deegan.

Our retreat concluded Friday, but we stayed an extra day for some fraternal time together. We drove about half an hour to the Glenveagh National Park, home of Glenveagh Castle and Lough (Lake) Glenveagh. It was a glorious day, and the scenery was extremely beautiful, and we seemed to fit right in with our Franciscan habits against the backdrop of a medieval looking castle.

Glennveagh Castle (also below).

Lough Glenveagh (also below).

On Sunday, Fr. Paulus, Br. Gabriel, Br. Cyril and I took the long way home along the northwest coast of Ireland. We were blessed again with fantastic weather and soaked in one beautiful landscape after another. Our journey lead us right past Knock, site of the sanctuary commemorating the silent two-hour apparition in 1879 of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist along with Jesus as the Lamb of God standing atop an altar and adored by angels to fifteen people of varying ages. It’s a whole catechesis packed into dense imagery and symbolism. I prayed at the apparition chapel for all the benefactors of the CFR Sudan mission. Not far from Knock is Ballyhaunis, the area from which my great-grandfather Gorman immigrated to the US.

The northwest Donegal coast. Tory Island is visible in the background.

Me with Br. Gabriel and Br. Cyril outside the apparition chapel at Knock.

The four of us with the viking-like statue of St. Patrick at Knock

I ended my time in Ireland by spending two days at St. Patrick's Friary in the Moyross section of Limerick. Moyross is an area noted for violent crime and the friars made a great impression on the entire country by choosing to live their and befriend their neighbors. They've appeared on national television several times and received very positive treatment by the press. People recognized us by our habits at locations throughout the country, and even on the return flight on Aer Lingus from Shannon airport.

I flew into Nairobi yesterday morning and will head on to Torit next Monday.

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