Lough Derg
Photo: Eugene Lang The deepest spiritual needs of people have not changed despite the transformation of Irish society over the past century, the Prior of Lough Derg has said as St Patrick’s Basilica marks the beginning of its ‘centenary season’.
“At the deepest level, people’s spiritual needs do not change,” Fr La Flynn told The Irish Catholic. Recalling St Augustine’s words that the human heart is restless until it rests in God, Fr Flynn said: “What has changed is the cultural context in which we live our faith and in which we respond to that deep spiritual need.”
The foundation stone of St Patrick’s Basilica was laid on July 15, 1926, replacing an earlier chapel which could hold around 300 pilgrims. The new church was designed to accommodate approximately 1,000 people and was first opened to pilgrims in 1930.
Fr Flynn said the anniversary begins a five-year period of celebration, marking the stages between the laying of the foundation stone and the church’s consecration and designation as a basilica in 1931.
While the Ireland of 2026 differs greatly from that of 1926, he said Lough Derg retains a timeless quality which allows pilgrims to step away from the distractions of contemporary life.
By fasting and setting aside mobile phones, social media and entertainment, pilgrims deliberately challenge consumerism and “open the space” to attend to their deeper selves and “the things of God”, he said.
Describing Lough Derg as “an out-of-the-way corner of God’s creation”, Fr Flynn said its quietness helps people recover attention from digital demands and calls people to attend “to all that is true and lasting and worthy of our attention”.