On St. Patrick’s Day, we call to mind an unbroken tradition of faith in our diocese, our city and our country, said Bishop Fintan Gavin.
Mass for St. Patrick's Day was celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, Cork by Bishop Fintan.
The congregation included the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Fergal Dennehy, the Lady Mayoress, Karen Brennan; the Chief Executive of Cork City Council, Valerie O'Sullivan; the Lord Mayor of the City of Coventry, Cllr Rachel Lancaster and members of Cork City Council.
In his homily at the Mass, Bishop Fintan said that St. Patrick didn’t only bring the Christian faith to Ireland.
“That faith has helped to shape the values that became part of Irish identity — a sense of community, care for the vulnerable, hospitality to the stranger and an awareness of God in everyday life.”
Bishop Fintan said that Cork has a particular reason to celebrate that living tradition of faith this year.
“We mark the one hundredth anniversary of the great Eucharistic Procession which first took place in our city in 1926.”
In challenges, the people of Cork turned to the Eucharist, gathering in prayer and bringing their faith onto the streets of the city, the bishop said.
“This year we will mark that centenary when we gather once again for the Eucharistic Procession through the city on Sunday 7th June, the Feast of Corpus Christi — renewing that public witness of faith and unity in Cork.”
Bishop Fintan also announced that ahead of the Corpus Christi Procession this year, the diocese will host a visit of the relics of St. Carlo Acutis – the young Italian who was declared the first millennial saint by Pope Leo last September.
Carlo often said that the Eucharist was “the highway to heaven”.
“Patrick in the fifth century and Saint Carlo Acutis in our own time both remind us of the same truth: that an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist has the power to transform lives.”
