More than a half a million pilgrims have visited Knock Shrine so far this year, and that’s well in excess of visitors to the Shrine last year. That’s according to the Parish Priest of Knock Fr Richard Gibbons.
Fr Gibbons says that they now have a method of calculating visitors into the Shrine from all entry points, and the numbers attending, are significantly up on last year.
That’s all ahead of the National Novena to Our Lady of Knock, which gets underway later this month, from the 14th – 22nd of August.
In pre-pandemic times, the Novena was attracting up to 130,000 piligrims over the nine days, and it’s hoped this year will see a return to those numbers.
Over the course of the nine days, there will be a range of guest speakers daily offering insights on a variety of topics, from personal faith stories, to responses to a changing world.
The theme for this year is ‘Caring for Creation’.
Fr Gibbons has been speaking to Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley about the 2023 Novena and the range of speakers that will be in attendance daily…
