No pope visited Ireland for the first millennium and a half of Christianity on the island – and now it appears two may come here in less than 40 years.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin was in Toronto in 2008 when it was announced the 50th International Eucharistic Congress would take place in Dublin in 2012. He was in Philadelphia last Sunday when it was announced the next World Meeting of Families would be in Dublin in 2018 with, maybe, a papal visit for good measure.
This is either extraordinary coincidence or testament to remarkable negotiating skills. That two such major international Catholic Church events could be secured within such a tight timeframe for the same archdiocese on the same small island of just 4.7 million Catholics is quite an achievement.
It also helps explain the comparative silence of Archbishop Martin over recent months and his trips to Rome. Some said Rome was none too pleased with him for responding that the same-sex marriage referendum result last May meant the church in Ireland needed a reality check.
Attention
But what of a visit by Pope Francis? It is thought more probable than possible even if EU countries haven’t really commanded his passionate attention. Since becoming pope the only EU country he has been in is Italy, with a brief trip to Strasbourg in France last November.
There he told the European Parliament that the world is “less and less ‘Eurocentric’,” and “Europe seems to give the impression of being somewhat elderly and haggard, feeling less and less a protagonist in a world which frequently regards it with aloofness, mistrust and even, at times, suspicion.”
Details of the Dublin World Meeting of Families have to be worked out but it will likely take place at the RDS in June. If Pope Francis visit, it will probably end with Mass in the Phoenix Park, as nowhere else could accommodate expected numbers. He may also visit Northern Ireland, possibly Armagh, ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.
