Mags Gargan
Navan Road Parish has begun constructing a shrine in the church for Blessed Pope John Paul II
The Navan Road Parish in Dublin has begun preparations for the canonisation of Pope John Paul II with the construction of a shrine in his honour in the church.
During his visit to Ireland in 1979, Pope John Paul II stayed in the Apostolic Nunicature which neighbours Our Lady Help of Christians
parish church on the Navan Road, Dublin 7, and it is rumoured the Pontiff made a private visit to the church for adoration during that historic trip.
The late Archbishop Alibrandi (former Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland) donated the Prie Dieu that the Pope used during his stay in the nunciature to the parish in 1982, and this kneeler and a statue of the Pope will be the basis of a new shrine placed in a secure glass case in a former confession box in the church.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will formally bless the shrine in December. In the meantime on October 22 at 7.30pm, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown will celebrate Mass in Navan Road Parish to mark the feast day of Blessed Pope John Paul II.
