The Apparition at Knock

At the time of the Apparition, Knock was typical of the villages in the West of Ireland. It was a small collection of thatched houses with the parish church at its centre.

On the evening of the 21^st of August 1879, Our Lady appeared at the gable of the church with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist.  Our Lady was dressed in white robes, with a cloak fastened at the neck. Her eyes and  hands were raised  in prayer towards Heaven. She wore a large crown and where the crown  fitted her brow, a single golden rose.  On her right stood St. Joseph, head bowed respectfully towards her. On her left,  St. John the Evangelist holding a book of Gospels. He appeared to be preaching although no words were heard. He so stood that his back was neither turned to the Mother of God nor to the Lamb that stood upon a plain  altar. Some saw angels hovering around the Lamb, while all present noticed that the light from the Lamb was brighter than the light from all the others present.  The witnesses watched and prayed for over two hours in the pouring rain and while the wind from the south was driving against the gable, it remained perfectly dry.The witnesses present testified that the Apparition seemed to be so alive that they could not understand why they could not touch with their hands what they so clearly saw with their eyes.

News of the Apparition at Knock spreads very quickly and pilgrims begin to gather at the parish church within weeks .  The first organised pilgrimages begin as early as 1880.

In March, a group of 50 pilgrims from Limerick travel by train to Tuam and then onwards by horse drawn open side car to Knock.  In June, 240 young men come on pilgrimage from Cork and 1000 Irish emigrants travel from Manchester in August 1880 and Knock begins to attract large crowds.

Knock Shrine Society is  established on the 21st August 1935 by Dame Judy Coyne and her husband Liam Ua Cadhain with the approval of the then Archbishop of Tuam, Most Rev. Dr. Thomas P. Gilmartin. On that day, the principal witness to the Apparition at Knock, Mrs. Mary O’Connell (nee Byrne), is present at the Shrine for the ceremonies. The main reason for its establishment is  to promote the Shrine of Knock at home and abroad so that it could take its rightful place with the other important Marian Shrines in Europe and elsewhere. Its first members also want to bring some formality into the ceremonies at Knock Shrine and to provide facilities for the protection and care of the Sick who were coming to the Shrine in large numbers.

A Second Commission of Enquiry is established by Archbishop Gilmartin of Tuam to examine the two surviving witnesses still living in Ireland – Mary Byrne O’Connell and Patrick Byrne.

At this point in time, the two remaining witnesses are elderly people.  Mary Byrne O’Connell gives her sworn testimony from her bed as she is too ill to leave it. She passes away six weeks later.

In New York, John Curry, the youngest witness to the Apparition gives his evidence to a special tribunal set by the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Hayes.

John Curry emigrated to the United States in the 1890’s and when he reads in the papers about the second Commission of Enquiry, he makes contact with the priest in his home parish of Knock. A special tribunal is convened in 1937 to hear his evidence.

The Marian Year of 1954 , Pope Pius XII blesses the Knock Shrine banner  and presents it with a commemorative medal. This is the first of many Papal honours received by the Shrine in recognition of its importance as a place of Marian devotion.

On December 8th, the last day of the Marian Year,  the processional statue of Our Lady of  Knock is canonically  crowned by kind permission of the Vatican Chapter.

By the end of the Marian Year, the number of annual pilgrims exceeds one million for the first time.

The Church of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland is completed and opens for public ceremonies. The Church is elevated to the status of Basilica by Pope John Paul II when he visits Knock in 1979.

The first National Novena to Our Lady of Knock takes place in Knock Basilica.  The inaugural Novena was officially opened by Joseph Cunnane, Archbishop of Tuam and a native of Knock.

The Novena prayer was composed by Fr. Joe Quinn who was later appointed as parish priest at Knock in 2002.  The National Novena takes place annually  from August 14th to 22nd each year and has expanded to include two daily sessions , workshops and seminars.

This year marks the centenary of the Apparition at Knock and Pope John Paul II visits Knock Shrine on 30 September . He celebrates an outdoor Mass to an assembled congregation of 450, 000. He presents a Golden Rose to the Shrine as a gift, one of only 9 that he gifted during his 25 year papacy. during his visit he raised the Church of Our  Lady, Queen of Ireland to the status of basilica.

Knock Airport opens on October 25^th . The first flights from the airport are three Aer Lingus Boeing jet aircraft (737s and a 707) flying to Rome. The first airline ticket produced at the Airport was an Aer Lingus ticket for passenger Monsignor James Horan. Monsignor Horan is often referred to as the ‘Builder of Knock’ and is perhaps best known for the building of Knock Airport which was completed against incredible odds and difficulties.

Mother Teresa is welcomed to Knock Shrine in June. She greets the large crowd from the Outdoor Altar at Knock Basilica and addresses the Sick during concelebrated Mass. More than 50,000 people gather to hear her.

Knock Basilica undergoes extensive redevelopment for its 40^th anniversary. The Apparition Mosaic is unveiled. Based on an illustration by Irish illustrator PJ Lynch, it was crafted by Travissanutto Mosaics in Spilimbergo, Italy. It consists of 1.5 million pieces of glass and is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The redevelopment of this iconic building formed a central part of the “Witness to Hope” fundraising initiative.

In May 2017, Fr Richard Gibbons leads the first ever pilgrimage from Knock to the Archdiocese of New York. It is a momentous day as 180 pilgrims board a flight from Ireland West Airport to JFK.

The purpose of the trip is to have the remains of John Curry (the youngest witness to the Knock Apparition of 1879) reinterred in the ground of old St Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC. John Curry died in 1943 in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The remarkable story of John Curry and the Knock pilgrimage makes the front page of the New York Times as well as many other American newspapers. It touches the hearts of many of the Irish diaspora in the States.

2019 marks the 140th anniversary of the Apparition at Knock.  The theme for the special year is’ Continuing  Our Journey’ as  we celebrate this milestone.   Within weeks of the Apparition, pilgrims began to make the journey to this special place as news spread. This year we remember the countless numbers of pilgrims who have been a part of  our journey so far. We also commemorate, in particular, the fifteen local people who witnessed this heavenly vision on a wet August evening in 1879.