30,000 expected in Cahir tomorrow for macabre rituals

Expunge

http://www.waterfordlismore.ie/2016/05/relics-of-st-anthony-visit-diocese/


If you need to go through Cahir tomorrow, think again. About 30,000 people are expected there tomorrow (June 9th) as the relics of St. Anthony of Padua come to town for one day only.

Worshippers of bits of bone and cloth alleged to be from the 13th Century Friar will be in Cahir for the day from 10am. Veneration all day, mass in the evening.

St.Anthony is the Saint of Lost Things, so if you can't find the remote control or your credit card or like Tom Hayes, you've lost your Dail seat, come to Cahir.

jenny smith

Where in cahir is this happening?

Jakey Rolling

Interesting, as I drove through Cahir tonight listening to Newstalk, my radio instead locked on to a local transmission on 107.0MHz - nothing but background sounds from what sounded like inside a church, or the castle. Wouldn't they need a license to broadcast on this frequency?

Anyhow, will make it my business to avoid the area tomorrow.

Expunge

Yes, they have one of those Churchlink things (at St Mary's Parish Church - opposite the GAA club). Basically an FM transmitter with the ariel stuck on to the steeple. Most parish churches have them. I'm not sure any of them are regulated or entirely legal. I could be wrong about that.

As Dublin and Killarney are the nearest places where the Saint's alleged bones will also visit this time, if I had a chip van or an ice cream van or were a skillful pickpocket, I'd be heading to Cahir myself.

callaway92

Thank god I won't be around (pardon the pun).

The town has been looking great recently with the good weather and influx of tourists.

Expunge

yep. It looks great. And one of the few towns left with working, maintained public toilets.

jenny smith

I do not see why you would call them macabre rituals even if you do not agree with them. I don't but i do not judge others faith

jenny smith

Expunge wrote: »

yep. It looks great. And one of the few towns left with working, maintained public toilets.

Lismore is another.

Expunge

jenny smith wrote: »

I do not see why you would call them macabre rituals even if you do not agree with them. I don't but i do not judge others faith

How's about you and I go and disturb the remains of someone well loved and inspirational. Who would we agree on... Mother Teresa...Nelson Mandela perhaps?

We would then ascribe miraculous powers to these mutilated body parts... have some drunken Bishop lobby on our behalf in Rome. Whether or not Rome agrees, we go on tour with our magical human remains - the word will spread and hey presto! We are in business.

Look, there are many fine people and aspects to the Catholic Church - especially the personnel - priests, nuns and lay people working in very challenging situations here and elsewhere.

The veneration of body parts of long dead, but really loved figures from the Roman Church is macabre in today's world, in my view.
If we tried the above we would be rightly arrested, jailed and vilified.

(Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela are examples only. No offence intended)