Cathedral bells ring out 88 times as people pay respects to Pope in Armagh
Outside the landmark twin-spired cathedral, flags of the Vatican City flew at half-mast as people arrived to pay their respects.
Advertisement
Among those stopping by to say a prayer and light a candle were members of the local congregation but also others from further afield who felt drawn to the seat of the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland.
Barry O'Neill, Clara O'Neill, Claire O'Neill, Ben Og O'Neill and Conan McGerr at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh (David Young/PA).
Shortly before 2pm, the Catholic primate of all-Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin and the Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell led an impromptu prayer service ahead of formally opening a book of condolences.
'Over the next few days, I imagine many people will come here just to sign their names because I think we all loved Pope Francis and he was a great witness to us,' said Archbishop Martin.
'Even in the last few months with his own illness and being able to carry that suffering and show resilience in the face of suffering. I know it meant a lot to a lot of people who were like him, frail and maybe struggling and suffering in their final days.
Advertisement
'He was very, very convinced that God was merciful and he kept saying that 'I am sinner'. So I am just hoping and praying that the merciful God today is welcoming him into his heavenly home.'
The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, watched by Archbishop Dermot Farrell Archbishop of Dublin, signs a book of condolences for Pope Francis (Niall Carson/PA)
One of those who came to pay respects was local Armagh man Patrick Douglas.
He travelled to the Knock Shrine in Co Mayo in 2018 to see Pope Francis just as he had journeyed to Galway in 1979 when Pope John Paul II had visited Ireland.
'It's just lovely to come up here to the cathedral today,' he said.
Advertisement
'Just to light a candle and say a prayer.'
Patrick Douglas paid his respects at St Patrick's Cathedral (David Young/PA).
Claire and Barry O'Neill came to the church with their children, Clara and Ben Og and nephew Conan McGerr.
The family had been away on holiday for a few days in Carlingford, Co Louth and decided to divert to the cathedral on their way home to Moneymore in Co Derry.
'He was a man that changed the world,' said Mrs O'Neill.
Advertisement
'He wanted to make a difference, no matter what you were, to guide everybody, whatever your faith is, just to bring everybody together.
'He was very humble, very empowering.'
Mrs O'Neill said it had been an uplifting experience to be in the cathedral on such a day.
'Everybody's here to pay their respects to a really nice man,' she added.
Advertisement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
A ship with hundreds of tons of food aid for Gaza nears an Israeli port after leaving Cyprus
After setting off from Cyprus, a ship loaded with 1,200 tons of food supplies for the Gaza Strip was approaching the Israeli port of Ashdod on Tuesday in a renewed effort to alleviate the worsening crisis as famine threatens the Palestinian territory. The Panamanian-flagged vessel is loaded with 52 containers carrying food aid such as pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods. Israeli customs officials had screened the aid at the Cypriot port of Limassol from where the ship departed on Monday. Some 700 tons of the aid is from Cyprus, purchased with money donated by the United Arab Emirates to the so-called Amalthea Fund, set up last year for donors to help with seaborne aid. The rest comes from Italy, the Maltese government, a Catholic religious order in Malta and the Kuwaiti nongovernmental organization Al Salam Association. 'The situation is beyond dire,' Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos told The Associated Press. Cyprus was the staging area last year for 22,000 tons of aid deliveries by ship directly to Gaza through a pier operated by the international charity World Central Kitchen and a U.S. military-run docking facility known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore system. By late July 2024, aid groups pulled out of the project, ending a mission plagued by repeated weather and security problems that limited how much food and other emergency supplies could get to those in need. Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Tuesday's mission is led by the United Nations but is a coordinated effort — once offloaded at Ashdod, U.N. aid employees would arrange for the aid to be trucked to storage areas and food stations operated by the World Central Kitchen. The charity, which was behind the first aid shipment to Gaza from Cyprus last year aboard a tug-towed barge, is widely trusted in the battered territory. 'The contribution of everyone involved is crucial and their commitment incredible,' Kombos said. Shipborne deliveries can bring much larger quantities of aid than the air drops that several nations have recently made in Gaza. The latest shipment comes a day after Hamas said it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire. Israel has not approved the latest proposal so far. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks stalled last month, raising the possibility of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin has dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza are 'lies' promoted by Hamas. But the U.N. last week warned that starvation and malnutrition in the Palestinian territory are at their highest levels since since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 in which the militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said the Palestinian death toll from from 22 months of war has passed 62,000. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.
BBC News
13-08-2025
- BBC News
Wrecked English warship's cannon found on seabed off Kent coast
Cannons and coils of rope from an English warship that sank in 1703 have been discovered by Northumberland, a large 70-gun ship built in Bristol in 1679, sank off the Kent coast during high winds in what was known as "The Great Storm". The latest survey to inspect the site, held in July, also revealed wooden chests containing musket balls, swords and wooden Meara, one of the Historic England maritime archaeologists who went on the diver, said: "What we're seeing on the seabed is that big, big element of the ship structure. It's fantastic." Shifting sands means experts were able to see that The Northumberland, built for the Royal Navy by Bristol shipbuilder Francis Baylie, is more complete than previously thought."It's the exact kind of ship you think about when you think of great big warships of the age of sail," Mr Meara told BBC Radio Bristol. He said a long series of investigations and surveys will now take place to "answer more questions of the past".Mr Meara, who dived about 65ft (20 metres) to the ship, said: "On the dives we can see this great big iron cannon, there's large bits of wooden ship structure."But because it's so intact you can see a lot of the organic material you don't normally see - things like coils of rope, smaller wooden objects and organic artefacts like that. "They're all lying on that decking, exactly where they would have been when the ship went down." He added any work to lift the warship out of the sea is very expensive and would take significant restoration work."As soon as you lift it out of the water, it's at risk of decay," he said.
BBC News
10-08-2025
- BBC News
English saint to receive prestigious doctor designation from Pope
The first Englishman to be made a saint in the Catholic Church for hundreds of years will soon be recognised with an even more prestigious Henry Newman was first made a cardinal in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII, a position he held for 11 years before his 150 years later, current pontiff Pope Leo XIV announced last week that Newman would be recognised as a Doctor of the doing so, the Pope made Newman the 38th person and first Briton born in the past 1,000 years to be given the title. Newman studied at Trinity College, Oxford, before becoming an Anglican priest in the was during his time among the dreaming spires that he founded the Oxford Movement, which argued for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions into the Victorian Church of England. He lived at The College, in Littlemore, during the 1840s, which is where he controversially converted to Roman Catholicism in College still stands as a symbol of Newman's theology and is maintained by a group of devoted nuns, with much of it remaining untouched since the early Victorian Mary-Birgit Dechant said Newman's "religious impact and his contribution to education" were "formed and shaped in Oxford".She said: "St John Henry left a tremendous legacy in theology, philosophy, spirituality, pastoral care, education and, not to forget, poetry."His works are much read and researched, which proves that he is speaking to people of our time." Newman was canonised by Pope Francis in 2019, after the Vatican attributed two miracles to the former doing so, the then pontiff made Newman the first English saint since the Forty Martyrs, who had been executed under Reformation laws during the 16th and 17th six years later, Pope Francis' successor Leo XIV has recognised Newman with an even greater honour, making him a Doctor of the title recognises saints who "made an outstanding or eminent contribution to our knowledge of the faith," according to the Catholic Church of England and Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, who leads the church in England and Wales, said that he was "delighted and thrilled" by the Pope's declaration."This recognition that the writings of St John Henry Newman are a true expression of the faith of the Church is of huge encouragement to all who appreciate not only his great learning but also his heroic sanctity in following the call of God in his journey of faith, which he described as 'heart speaking unto heart'," he said. Sister Mary-Birgit added that Newman's appointment as a Doctor of the Church had "confirmed and encouraged" her sisterhood's mission at said: "We have seen a growing interest in Newman and we can testify that his life and words are a great help for people worldwide."As Newman, we desire that people grow in faith and trust that by his elevation as Doctor of the Church his influence will increase even more."Oxfordians can be proud of his legacy."The Vatican has not yet announced when the official ceremony will take place. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
