High hopes for pope visit

Knock – Bernie and Tom Byrne can barely conceal their excitement as they prepare for a visit to Ireland by Pope Francis, pictured, which they hope will bring back the young believers that have deserted the Catholic church after decades of scandal.

Their grandfather, Dominic, was one of at least 22 people who claimed to see Mary, Joseph and John the Evangelist hovering near the gable end of the local church in the western Irish village of Knock on a rainy evening in 1879.

Francis will pray at the Knock shrine as part of his two-day visit to Ireland this week, the first by a pope in almost 40 years. The once staunchly Catholic country has become a far more secular and liberal society.

“Houses are being painted and streets are being scrubbed ... trying to get everything ready for him,” said Bernie, 74, who like his brother Tom, runs a small shop selling religious goods to the 1.5 million pilgrims that come to Knock each year.

Religion is still deeply embedded in the face of the Irish countryside. Roadside grottos with statues of the Virgin Mary are a feature of almost every Irish town and village. Like many practising Catholics across the country, the Byrne brothers hope the papal visit will bring back those who abandoned the church after its standing collapsed over a string of clerical child sex abuse scandals.

“A lot of the youngsters are not going to church now at all, with all the scandal,” said Tom. “The church would have to change to accommodate younger people. Possibly, more than likely, they will have to ordain women priests because they have no priests at the moment to succeed the older priests here.”

Pope Francis will be the second pope to visit Knock after Pope John Paul II said mass to a crowd of around 450 000 there in 1979. Organisers are expecting a crowd of around 45 000 for Francis.

The proportion of Catholics fell to 78% in the most recent census of 2016 from a peak of 95% in 1961. Still, another 500 000 people are expected to watch Pope Francis say mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday.

For other Catholics, the visit is a boost to the faithful who are struggling with a social landscape changed beyond recognition by votes in recent years to remove constitutional blocks to abortion and gay marriage. Ireland adopted same-sex marriage by popular vote in a landslide 2015 referendum and last year ended its anti-abortion stance.