Knock Shrine hosted colleagues from the European Marian Network for their annual meeting last week, where participants shared experiences, collaborated, and joined together in prayer.
Each year, the European Marian Network hosts their annual meeting at one of the 20 major Marian Shrines represented in the network. Knock, Ireland’s International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine, was chosen this year, providing an opportunity for the holy site to open its doors to the wider European Church community and fellow rectors and representatives of Marian Shrines around the continent.
Rector of Knock Shrine Fr Richard Gibbons reflected on the gathering: “it was a great joy and privilege for Knock to host our colleagues.”
He continued to share that the meeting “reminds us that while our Shrines are rooted in different places and cultures, we share the same call – to welcome pilgrims, to pray with them, and to offer a message of hope and peace inspired by Our Lady.” Other Marian Shrines represented in the network include Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal, and the Black Madonna of the Einsielden Abbey in Switzerland.
At the meeting, the rectors and delegates of the Marian Shrines are able to learn from each other, discuss any changes or trends in pilgrimage and address any needs that they have observed in the past year.
