Papal visit will be “icing on the cake” says Bishop of Elphin

PARISHIONERS across Elphin will be invited to reflect on the place of the family in the Church and Society in advance of the Pope’s visit to Ireland in 2018.

Pope Francis confirmed yesterday ( Monday) that he will travel here for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August 2018 in what will be the first papal visit since Pope John Paul came to Ireland in 1979. Taoiseach Enda Kenny extended the invitation to Pope Francis during his visit to the Vatican yesterday.

Responding to the news, Bishop of Elphin Most Reverend Kevin Doran said it was “early days” to talk about any possibilities of the Pope visiting Sligo, but added “it would be great to have him.”

“I think the important thing is to keep in mind that the focus of his visit is the World Meeting of Families,” he told The Sligo Champion. “Like the other two big international events in the Church calendar ( World Youth Day and the Eucharistic Congress) the WMF is a festival of faith.

“It is also, in some sense a journey or pilgrimage for the Irish Church. I think Pope Francis has invited us to host this in Ireland because he believes that it will be helpful for Catholics at this time to reflect on the place of family in the Church and in Society and on how we can be supportive of families, especially those in difficulty.

“So we will be inviting parishioners over the next eighteen months to reflect on these questions, using Pope Francis’ own recent letter of encouragement “The Joy of Love”. His visit will, please God, be the “icing on the cake”,” added the Bishop.