Pope Benedict XVI has joined the ranks of the quarter of a million pilgrims to ring
for renewal in the Church in Ireland on the International Eucharistic Congress Bell.
Ahead of his weekly general audience the Holy Father met with a delegation from the
IEC2012 organizing committee from Dublin, Ireland, led by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin,
aptly beneath the ‘Arch of the Bell’s’ to the left of the Vatican Basilica.
Fr
Kevin Doran, Secretary General of IEC2012 said: "The Pope blessed the bell, rang it
vigorously, and paused to admire the icons as Archbishop Martin explained their significance.
He was presented with Shamrock by Colette Furlong and with the first copy of the Congress
Commemorative Medal, by Sheena Darcy."
"To the surprise of its critics, the
Eucharistic congress is taking shape as a genuine moment of renewal in the church,"
said Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, as he launched the “Ring for renewal” initiative
earlier this week. Listen to Emer McCarthy’s report:
Cathedrals,
churches and chapels across Ireland are being asked to ring their bells for two minutes
at 12 noon and 6 p.m this Saturday March 17th, St Patrick’s Day, as a symbol of renewal
and a call to gather in preparation for the Congress. Archbishop Martin insists that
the event "is being seen as a unique opportunity for renewal of the Christian life."
In
fact when they were thinking about a symbol to represent the Dublin Congress, the
organizers decided on the symbol of the bell. Why? Because apparently St Patrick,
Patron Saint of the Irish, left a bell with each of the Christian communities he founded
throughout the island in the 5th century. The idea being that these communities, on
hearing the bell, would be called to conversion, to prayer, to and ultimately to communion.
For
the past year, a bell taken from a convent on Ireland’s North Sea Coast, has been
visiting all of the communities of Ireland’s 26 dioceses. Inner city parishes, fire
stations, hospitals and hospices, schools, chapels, cloistered convents and ecumenical
organizations.
Through winter cold, sleet and rain and under summer sun the
spectacle of men and women young and old struggling beneath the weight of the bell
as they carry it literally on their backs from village to village, up mountains and
along motorways has puzzled many a motorist. The sound of the bell and hymns ringing
along the main streets of towns has stopped many people in their tracks. The bell
has become a vibrant sign for the Irish people of the coming Congress, an invitation
to them to prepare and become involved, even those who have distanced themselves from
the faith and the Church over the years.
The pastoral program that has accompanied
the bell’s pilgrimage reflects this. It no longer takes the faith formation of Irish
people as a given, offering introductory courses on scripture, liturgy and Church
teaching.
“Our main aim is to try and bring as many people as possible to closer
union with Christ” says Fina Golden. She is just one example of the new Church that
is emerging in Ireland. A lay Catholic, she is on the board for pastoral preparation
for the diocese of Elphin. “We also want to leave a lasting legacy in the diocese
after Congress is finished, that people will remember, that hey will have deepened
their faith and their communion with one another”.
In the past the Church
in Ireland was often accused of clericalism. However the Church that is emerging in
the lead up to Dublin 2012 while dramatically reduced in numbers, is vibrant, informed
and above all centered on bringing forth the laity. They are literally everywhere,
and they are not all Irish.
Meet the man behind the Bell, Hungarian Gellert
Merza: “It was a fantastic opportunity to be out there and to see how people are attracted
to the Church, to the Eucharist. And this little bell that we are carrying about
in Ireland is a great opportunity for people to come and reflect again on what the
Eucharist means for themselves. The bell is not the most important thing, it was just
to start something, to ring in something and of course to call people to the Congress
itself”.
To date more than a quarter of a million people- including Pope Benedict
- have rung the Congress Bell in Ireland, in Lourdes, France and now also in Rome.