Total devotion to our town saint

BIG CROWDS TURN OUT FOR ANNUAL PROCESSION FOR ST OLIVER PLUNKETT

DROGHEDA’S unique commemoration on the feast day of St Oliver Plunkett again brought out a fine crowd on Sunday, including Archbishop Eamon Martin.

Led by the ONE group, the procession started from Holy Family Church and ended with mass in St Peter’s.

The walk commemorated the 97th anniversary of the beatification of Saint Oliver Plunkett by Pope Benedict XV on 23 May 1920, as well as the 42nd anniversary of his canonisation as a martyred saint by Blessed Pope Paul VI on 12 October 1975.

The festival is seen as a hands-across-the-Boyne celebration of faith which embraces both dioceses, Meath and Armagh.

‘ The stories of Saint Oliver Plunkett, and many other heroic people of faith in the Penal times, remind us of the courage and sacrifices of our ancestors. I thank God for the freedom to believe and worship that we enjoy in Ireland today, and I pray that freedom shall never again be undermined or taken for granted in this country, the Archbishop stated.

Pictured: Members of the Knights of St Columbanus and Knights of The Holy Sepulcher Of Jerusalem attended the procession, with below, Gerry Watson, Hugh O’Donnell and John Andrews and bottom right, St Oliver on display at the Dominican Church.

Carrying the relics of St Oliver

At Sunday’s St. Oliver procession were Turlough Toner, Mayor Pio Smith, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Cllr. Oliver Tully and Archdeacon Jim Carroll.