Around the Gable Wall
The little village of Knock in County Mayo was thrust onto the world stage, in a most unusual way.
On the evening of August 15th, everything changed, the year being 1879. A vivid light lit up the gable end of the little church. A vision of Our Lady appeared. The phenomenal was witnessed by men, women and children, as they wandered around.
How privileged they were, on that wind swept 'West of Ireland', as she paid a visit to the poor deprived people. But they were the 'chosen ones', after all. County Mayo was recovering from the terrible Famine, that ravaged the West of
Ireland.
Most of the people who saw the 'vision', were probably not able to read or write. The people of that era, were believers and peasant like. Emigration had robbed the countryside of its young people.
Knock became a place of pilgrimage, when the 'good news' became known, people started to visit the Marian Shrine.
In this material world, people are still looking, hoping, crying out for guidance, as they try to cope with the stresses of life.
Sources say it was a very wet evening, but the ground around the area, where the vision happened, stayed dry.
The visionaries were questioned at length, like St. Bernadette of Lourdes, they were not believed. It was a time before any kind of communication with the outside world. It's one hundred and forty years ago, but Knock is still known worldwide.
Trains and buses started to ferry pilgrims from all over Ireland and abroad. Aviation had not taken over the skies.
The late Monsignor Horan, had a dream that the pilgrims could arrive directly into the area. He took a chance, it paid off. He was a man of 'vision', of character and attention to detail.
During the start of the build, he was asked by a reporter if he had planning permission. He said and I quote, "I don't know, but I will keep going!"
His dream became a reality and in 1986, the airport in Knock was opened. It was his idea to build a large Basilica, to shelter the pilgrims, when they came to pray. The little Church in Knock is quite small, it could not hold the large amount of people who visit every year.
That August evening in 1879, changed the face of Knock forever. In 1979, the late Pope John Paul II paid a visit to Ireland. He travelled to Knock on the 100th anniversary of the apparition, whereupon huge crowds gathered to welcome him.
The little church, where the vision happened, is carefully preserved. That gable end is well known, millions have touched it, down through the years. Like all the Marian shrines around the world, Lourdes, Fatima and Madjugore, Knock in County Mayo is well known and visited.
It's a place for prayer, it welcomes everyone, the believer and the non-believer. They all leave with hope and a desire to return again.