It was very wet that evening in Knock on August 21st, 1879, 140 years ago today, when 15 local people saw the apparition of Mary, St Joseph, St John the Evangelist, and a lamb standing on an altar before a cross, on the parish church’s gable wall.

“Knock Shrine is a special place in Co Mayo in the west of Ireland because of the apparition that took place here in 1879. “On August 21, an apparition appeared to 15 people from the village of Knock. And people came to the spot of the apparition to get some clay or holy water to send to abroad.

Though it remained for almost 100 years a major Irish pilgrimage site, Knock established itself as a world religious site in large measure during the last quarter of the twentieth century, largely due to the work of its longtime parish priest Monsignor James Horan.

1.5 million pilgrims

Nearly all the witnesses said that in their apparition, Mary was standing and praying, in a white cloak, with her eyes cast upwards, and with a golden crown. St Joseph stood to her right, with what one called “iron-grey whiskers.”

Knock Parish Church is open for private prayer from 1pm to 6pm daily. The Apparition Chapel is closed until further notice.

Mass Card Offices Their intentions will be remembered in two Masses daily at Knock Shrine for an entire year. Visit one of the Mass Card offices throughout the Shrine grounds. The offices are open all year round. If you are unable to visit Knock Shrine in person, you can also avail of this service online.

County Mayo

Knock Museum has reopened to the public after more than a year-long closure due to Covid-19. To celebrate the reopening, entrance fees will be waived for the 2021 season.

In 1936, a second Commission of Enquiry heard from the two surviving witnesses, Mary O’Connell and Patrick Byrne. Mary O’Connell ended her sworn statement with the words: “I am clear about everything I have said and I make this statement knowing I am going before my God.” She died later that year.

Masses take place from Monday to Saturday at 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. Sunday Masses take place at 12 noon and 3 p.m. There is no evening Mass on Sundays.

Mayo, Irish Maigh Eo (“Plain of the Yew Trees”), county in the province of Connaught, western Ireland. Mayo is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (north and west) and by Counties Sligo (northeast), Roscommon (east), and Galway (southeast and south). Castlebar, in central Mayo, is the county town (seat).

The Plain of the Yew Trees

List

County Westmeath (/wɛstˈmiːð/; Irish: Contae na hIarmhí or simply An Iarmhí) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Midlands Region….County Westmeath.

The Yeats Men