New Bishop of Derry appeals to Irish Catholics to focus on Knock

The newly appointed Bishop of Derry has appealed to Irish Catholics to rediscover Knock Shrine and the joys of pilgrimage.

Speaking as the annual Knock Novena begins on August 13, Bishop Michael Router spoke of the importance of the Co. Mayo shrine for the Irish people. “Sometimes,” said Bishop Michael Router, “we don’t find it as glamorous as maybe heading off on the plane to Lourdes or to Fatima or to Medjugorje or whatever. But it was the apparition that was for us, as an Irish people, and that should be where we focus on.”

While the Bishop himself makes an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, he urged Catholics not to overlook the shrine which has attracted two popes, St John Paul II and the late Pope Francis.  “I love Lourdes. It’s a wonderful place. And it’s great to go to the other places – fantastic – and the experience of being away together with a group of people is hugely beneficial. But you know Knock is such a special place.”

“It is a Eucharistic apparition as well as a Marian apparition. There’s such richness and depth in that apparition. All of our faith is declared – effectively the basics of our faith, and there’s so much to be unpacked from this.”

Knock Shrine last month marked the Golden Jubilee of the Basilica and is preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the apparition in August 2029.

The apparition of Our Lady, St Joseph, St John and the Lamb of God on the altar was witnessed by villagers for two hours in the rain on August 21, 1879.  “And it was for the Irish people,” said Bishop Router, “at a particular time in their history, when they were, you know, suffering so badly, and Our Lady came, and she didn’t speak, didn’t say anything, but was present, with the people, you know? And she is present with us, as an Irish people, even though we very often turn our backs on her, and our backs on the faith. Our Lady is still there, waiting to point us back to the Lord and welcome us home.”

The bishop has been making pilgrimages to Knock since he was a boy when he spent summer holidays in Galway visiting his mother’s family. “We went there every year,” he said. “My mother lived only about 24 miles from Knock.”

Bishop Michael Router is presently the auxiliary Bishop of Armagh but on September 20, he will be formally installed as Bishop of Derry at St Eugene’s Cathedral.

Bishop Router spoke of the importance of pilgrimage in sustaining faith and building relationships. “That’s one of the great things that happens on pilgrimage. People build relationships with each other. They’re walking the road together and people get a huge support when they’re on a pilgrimage, from the others who are there with them and from those who are leading them.”

He said pilgrimage also offers encouragement in prayer when we return to our daily lives. “Pilgrimage,” he added, “is hugely, hugely important.”

He paid tribute to the Rector of Knock Shrine, Fr Richard Gibbons. “He’s doing tremendous work in promoting Knock.”

In part one of a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Catholic, he shared his own faith journey, and the trepidation he felt when he was first appointed a bishop in 2019.