I joined the Knock Shrine Society in 1960 and I've been chief steward for the last 30 years. I know all the nooks and crannies of the place at this stage. I've always been a working chief steward, involved on the ground, meeting people, organising ceremonies and arranging processions.
The season lasts from mid-April to mid-October and during that time we get about one million pilgrims. There are 1,200 voluntary stewards and handmaids (what we call the women helpers). On a Sunday there would be about 300 of them here, helping. To give you a sense of a typical day here, on a Sunday we have a Mass for the helpers at 11 a.m. and then they divide into five sections. Everyone has different duties, helping the sick or selling souvenirs. There are always four helpers, two stewards and two handmaids, in the Adoration Chapel, where people sit, pray and reflect. We need to have people there in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, for security reasons if nothing else. Shrines do attract all kinds of people. We try to encourage people to do the right thing rather than the wrong thing.
At 2.30 p.m. there is the Anointing of the Sick in the Basilica. Oil that has been blessed by the bishop is placed on the forehead and on the palms of the hands. A few years ago I saw a man, crippled in a wheelchair, stand up and walk after receiving the Sacrament. At 3 p.m. there is a concelebrated Mass and a homily. We need up to 80 lay ministers of the eucharist to help with the distribution of the holy communion. At 3.50 p.m. there is the eucharistic blessing of the sick. The priest takes the blessed sacrament in procession, moving around to the invalids. The handmaids wear white, and white veils, and the stewards wear red sashes. Another priest is saying prayers. It is a very moving experience and boosts the morale of the sick.
Sometimes there is a cure. All sorts of different people are cured. Some who have great faith, some who don't, some who are other religions. It seems to happen - not alone for the good of the person who is cured but also to strengthen the faith of the public. Marion Carroll, who lives in Athlone, was cured of MS in 1989. I was leading the blessing of the sick group and during the eucharistic blessing the priest came to the words "Lord, that I may walk". At the same time the bishop - Bishop Colm O'Reilly of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise - raised the monstrance over her head. There was a stillness in spite of the thousands in the basilica. I was standing beside her.
After the ceremony Marion asked the nurse to loosen the straps on her stretcher. Then Marion turned her feet out of the trolley and stood up. She had not been able to walk or see, but now she could walk and even read a book. She had not been able to swallow - she was on an intravenous drip - but she asked for a drink and drank water from a cup. She is still the picture of health. To onlookers her cure seemed to be of the miracle class.
At 4 p.m. there is a rosary procession from the basilica to the Apparition Chapel, where there is a blessing of religious objects. Then people are taken back to St John's building where there are refreshments and souvenirs. Afterwards they are loaded on buses or we take them to the railway station in Claremorris or to Knock airport, eight miles away.
There are pilgrims at the shrine every day of the week. There is an all-night vigil on the first Friday of the month, with a spectacular, candle-lit procession. It's very popular with young people. We also have a Family Life Centre which offers all sorts of services, including family planning; and there is the Shrine Museum showing all the history and background of Knock. We get groups of pilgrims from all over the world, including Hong Kong and Poland.
In conversation with Katie Donovan.
