Large crowd attend special Mass for St Oliver Plunkett
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Entrance Procession honouring St Oliver Plunkett.Image 2 of 7
Members of The Order of Saint LazarusImage 3 of 7
Procession bringing the relics of St Oliver Plunkett to the altar.Image 4 of 7
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Primate of All Ireland, The Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan Photos: Jay G Forde.Image 5 of 7
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Primate of All Ireland pictured alongside Bartle D’Arcy. Photos: Jay G Forde.Image 6 of 7
Jake Pakenham speaking at Loughcrew.Image 7 of 7
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin and Primate of All Ireland, pictured with Emily Naper Dame of the Order St. LazarusHundreds of people attended a special open Mass last Sunday, June 29 in Loughcrew to commemorate two major anniversaries in the life of the Church.
The 400th anniversary of the birth of St Oliver Plunkett and the 50th anniversary of his canonisation.
St Oliver Plunkett was born in Loughcrew on November 1, 1625. He studied at the Irish College in Rome and was ordained in 1654. He later returned to Ireland as Archbishop of Armagh before being martyred in 1681. He was canonised on October 12, 1975 by Pope Paul VI and remains the most recent Irish saint to be canonised.
The Mass, organised by the Diocese of Meath, took place at 3pm at St Oliver’s birthplace in Loughcrew, it was celebrated by the Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan, with the homily delivered by the Most Reverend Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland and 13th successor to St. Oliver.
“It was an honour to be there at the birthplace of St Oliver Plunkett, and to follow in the footsteps of previous archbishops of Armagh who have come on pilgrimage to this special place,” wrote Archbishop Martin in a social media post.
The celebration was open to the public, with large numbers travelling from across the region to attend. The event concluded with prayers at the nearby heritage sites associated with St Oliver’s early life.