Friends Geraldine Gallagher, from Sligo and Teresa Mallee, from Mayo, came together to “light a candle and say a prayer”.
Ms Mallee, from Kiltimagh and Ms Gallagher were among hundreds of pilgrims who flocked to Knock Shrine to honour the late pontiff following his death.
Ms Mallee has fond memories of the wet day in August 2018 when Pope Francis himself visited the International Marian Shrine at Knock.
“When he came to Knock I had the joy of meeting him. It was lovely.
“I have always liked to come to Knock regularly to walk around and say a prayer. I have really good memories of that day he came,” she says with a smile.
“It was a very important day for Knock, I feel.
“My friend Geraldine was visiting me from Sligo today and when we heard Pope Francis had passed we wanted to come and pay our respects. And I am so glad we did.”
Geraldine Gallagher and Teresa Mallee in Knock on Monday, April 21.
Ms Gallagher smiles as she describes Pope Francis as a unifying figure and says she felt compelled to honour him by visiting Knock.
“We said we would come to Knock because we wanted to light a candle and say a prayer. I wasn’t here when he visited sadly,” she said. “He was a very modern pope, I felt. And he oozed that lovely aura of care and compassion. He touched people on all levels of life.
“He was very open in his way of thinking, more so than any other pope and there was great [unifying] potential with him I found, for all different walks of life, like LGBTQ+ and everybody really.
“Everybody was welcome within his Catholic Church, which felt very new and it was very wel...
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