Our Lady Help of Christians parish is connected to former Pope
The parish of Our Lady Help of Christians on the Navan Rd in Dublin held a triduum in honour of the feast day of St John Paul II on October 22.
The celebrants over the three days were the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, Fr John Harris OP and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. On the concluding evening Archbishop Martin blessed the congregation with a St John Paul II relic and launched a family Mass booklet aimed at children called ‘Growing in Faith with Jesus’, which was written by parishioner Frances Boland.
When Pope John Paul celebrated Mass in the Phoenix Park during his visit to Ireland in 1979, he stayed in the Apostolic Nunciature on the Navan Road. It is reputed that he made a private visit to the church of Our Lady Help of Christians where he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament.
The former Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Alibrandi, made a gift to the parish of the priedieu (kneeler) that Pope John Paul used in the Apostolic Nunciature, and this is on display alongside a new statue of the saint in a shrine in the church.