Queen Elizabeth visits Catholic church, meets ex-IRA leader

June 28, 2012: Queen Elizabeth II made two unprecedented gestures during a visit to Northern Ireland on June 26 and 27: stopping in a Catholic church and shaking hands with a former commander of the Irish Republican Army.
The Queen joined in an ecumenical service in Enniskillen to honor those killed in bombings 25 years ago, and met with parishioners at St. Michael’s church, on Tuesday. She was cheered by crowds at St Michael's Church, her first visit to a Catholic church in her 20 visits to Northern Ireland as queen. The following day, she met with Martin McGuinness, the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and head of the Sinn Fein party, who was once a top IRA leader.
Although the Queen has been to Northern Ireland 19 times before, her itinerary includes visits that would have been unthinkable little more than a decade ago.
The Queen is on a visit to Enniskillen town as part of a two-day diamond jubilee tour of Northern Ireland.
After the thanksgiving service at St Macartin's Church, attended by both Protestants and Catholics, the Queen was to have met the families of some of the Enniskillen victims.