Pilgrimage to Rome 2017 (6) - Mass for All Saints

To celebrate the Feast of All Saints one couldn't do better than to be in Rome, surrounded by so many of the relics of the Saints, and upon the ground which so many of them have trod... except perhaps to be in the Roman Church dedicated to All the Saints (or almost so), the Pantheon, which was dedicated to Santa Maria ad Martyres. We had visited the Pantheon on Day 1 of our Pilgrimage, on the eve of All Saints, but include the pictures here.

Mass for the Feast of All Saints in the Basilica of Sant'Eustachio in Campo Marzio On the Feast of All Saints itself, we came to the Basilica of Sant'Eustachio, only feet away from the Pantheon, for the celebration of Holy Mass and to explore our Catholic heritage in Rome a little further. Although called Sant'Eustachio in Campo Marzio, it is actually in the Rione or District of Sant'Eustachio. Saint Eustachio himself was one of those brave Roman Soldier converts and martyrs. His symbol, the stag with a cross in its antlers, is to be seen all over the Basilica. He is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to which there was much devotion in the Middle Ages, and well worth recalling on the Feast of All Saints. The Church was founded, perhaps during the reign of Pope St. Gregory the Great, and is certainly mentioned in the reign of Pope Gregory II as a Diaconia, a Deacon's Church or center for Corporal Works of Mercy, and that work continues today with the poor of the area dining in the loggia of the Church each day. The only obvious remnant of the Medieval structure is the impressive campanile. The interior is decorated in a gentle French baroque style.

Latin Mass in Ballinasloe

On Saturday, 28th March, 2015, members and friends of the Catholic Heritage Association made their first pilgrimage to the Diocese of Clonfert culminating in a Latin Mass in St. Michael's Church (1858), Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.  St. Michael's is one of the finest Churches in the Diocese, rivaling the Cathedral of the Diocese, Loughrea, 50 years its junior.

Pilgrimage to Ballinasloe, Co. Galway

Latin Mass in New Ross

With the kind permission of the Parish Priest and the generous cooperation of the Parish of New Ross and the Society of Saint Oliver Plunkett of the Diocese of Ossory, members and friends of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association made a pilgrimage to New Ross, Co. Wexford, on Saturday, 25th January, 2014, the feast of the conversion of Saint Paul, with a High Mass celebrated in the Gregorian Rite in the Parish Church of Ss. Mary and Michael, at 2 p.m.

Medieval New Ross could boast five Churches, St. Mary's, St. Michael's, St. Saviour's, the Franciscan and Augustinians.  The present Parish Church built upon the former market place replaced an earlier building, now St. Michael's Theatre, in 1902.  The Architect, Walter Glynn Doolin (1850-1902), a student of J.J. O'Callaghan, was responsible for Churches in a range of styles in Southern Ireland: Sacred Heart, Killusty, Co. Tipperary (1882), St. Brigid, Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick (1882), Sacred Heart, Dunhill, Co. Waterford (1884), St. James, Kilorglin, Co. Kerry (1888), St. Carthage, Lismore, Co. Waterford (1892), St. Brigid, Clonakenny, Co. Tipperary (1899), St. Carthage, Castlemain, Co. Kerry (1900), Holy Cross, Ardoyne, Belfast (1900), St. Brigid, Dunaskea, Co. Tipperary (1901), Ss. Mary and Michael, New Ross, Co. Wexford (1902), St. Augustine, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford (1902), Sacred Heart, Roscommon, Co. Roscommon (1903), St. Mary's, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary (1910).  The Church in limestone with granite facings still retains its original Altars by Pearse and Sharpe of Dublin and stained glass by Meyer of Munich.

The site of New Ross traces its origins to the monastic foundation of St. Abban of Doonane. The town was founded under Isabella, daughter of Strongbow and granddaughter of Diarmuid McMorrough, and her husband William Marshall. In that sense, it is doubly a twin town of Kildare, whose medieval foundations are largely due to William Marshall. The town's Royal Charter dates from 1207.

As the last fording point of the River Barrow, it's strategic value has been a constant of its history. The discharge of shot by the armies of Cromwell against one of the ancient gates of the town, Aldgate, known thereafter as Three Bullet Gate, is the origin of the 'Bearna Bhaoil' or 'Gap of Danger' mentioned in Amhráin na bhFiann, the Irish National Anthem. In the 1798 Rebellion, the Rebels led by Kelly of Killane siezed Aldgate and the town, although with immense losses. The Ballad of 'Kelly, the boy from Killane' recalls the event:  

Enniscorthy's in flames and old Wexford is won 
And tomorrow the Barrow we will cross 
On a hill o'er the town we have planted a gun 
That will batter the gateway to Ross 
All the Forth men and Bargy men will march o'er the heath 
With brave Harvey to lead in the van 
But the foremost of all in that grim gap of death 
Will be Kelly the boy from Killane

In the following centuries New Ross became a major emigration port, commemorated in the visit of President John F. Kennedy to the point of departure of his ancestors in 1963. New Ross is the birthplace of Fr. James Cullen, S.J., founder of 'The Messenger of the Sacred Heart, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart, and of 'Madonna' Official Organ of the Sodalities of Our Lady in Ireland.