150 Years of Faith

On 24th October last I had the privilege of attending a beautiful celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Church of Mary Immaculate in Collon, Co. Louth, the church where I was baptised, confirmed, made my first Holy Communion and was an altar server for some years, all those decades ago.

Collon is, I’m sure among many towns and villages celebrating such anniversaries – it has never ceased to amaze me how in the period after the Famine of the 1840s, only decades after Catholic Emancipation and after two hundred plus years of draconian Penal Laws designed to completely repress if not exterminate the Catholic population, a still impoverished people not only clung steadfastly to the faith, but by the 1870s had erected hundreds if not thousands of wonderful church buildings throughout the length and breath of the island.

But back to Collon on 24th October:

The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, Dr Eamon Martin was the chief celebrant. It was quite clear from the beautiful music and singing, from the choice of the gifts being brought to the altar and from the general orderliness of the celebration that a huge amount of planning had gone into the occasion. But planning can only take you so far ….

From the moment that more than a dozen priests including current and former clergy of the parish and the superior of nearby Mellifont Abbey processed ahead of the Archbishop through the nave of the church there was a real sense of something special being celebrated. Archbishop Martin led from the front and at every opportunity made us feel how wonderful it was to be celebrating one hundred and fifty years and he took us back to imagine what joy must have been in the hearts of our forebears on the day that Cardinal Cullen, who by 1869 had moved from the Archdiocese of Armagh to that of Dublin, came back to perform the consecration of the church. Those of us who were alive in the village around the middle of the last century and knew the poverty of the time can only imagine what it was like one hundred years earlier, and can imagine the joy that the successful completion of the building of the church brought to all.

I was enthralled by Archbishop Martin’s homily, and I chanced to ask him if I could have a copy of it, he smiled and told me that he had “ad libbed” a lot of it. It was very much from the heart, and echoing words of Pope Francis he spoke of his dream of a missionary impulse that will renew interest in the Church again. He particularly addressed the many young people present, including the excellent choir from the local primary school, urging them to consider following in the footsteps of the many in former generations who had followed the call of Christ to work in His vineyard.

Throughout the Mass and the reception in the local GAA Hall there was a real sense of community. One was inspired to give thanks to God for all His gifts in the past one hundred and fifty years, and to our forebears who kept the faith alive during often very troubled times. A beautiful commemoration booklet was produced for the occasion by Michael Reid and Seamus Roe – it is guaranteed to become a collector’s item!

To the next one hundred and fifty years!