Thousands make Reek Sunday pilgrimage to Ireland’s Croagh Patrick mountain

(Vatican Radio) Thousands of pilgrims from throughout Ireland climbed to summit of Croagh Patrick this weekend as part of the country’s annual Reek Sunday pilgrimage, a tradition that has been carried out uninterrupted for more that 1,500 years.
As many as 20,000 people climbed Ireland’s “holy mountain” in a pilgrimage led by Archbishop Michael Neary of the archdiocese of Tuam and most Reverend Charles Brown, Apostolic Nunzio to Ireland. Mass was celebrated on the summit every half-hour from 8am until 2pm, with the sacrament of reconciliation available to pilgrims.
At more than 2,500 feet, Croagh Patrick dominates the south western landscape of County Mayo, and welcomes thousands of visitors throughout the year. The tradition of making the pilgrimage began in 441 when St Patrick, in following the example of Moses and Christ, fasted for 40 days on the mountain’s summit. Originally a pagan custom tied to the harvest festival of Lughnasa in honour of the god Lugh, St Patrick Christianised the pilgrimage, as he did with many pagan traditions throughout Ireland.
Speaking with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Neary spoke about the importance of this pilgrimage for the people of Ireland.
“It is a very special place,” the archbishop said. “It’s a place of great beauty. The shape of the mountain, the conical shape, lends itself to pilgrimage and to prayer.”
The pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick mountain, the archbishop continued, “is also an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. We are undertaking not just a spiritual pilgrimage but also a cultural and historical journey down through the ages with those who have gone before us and have helped make us what we are today.”
“When we walk with respect and humility in the footprints of the past, we are enabled then to travel more wisely on the pathways of the future.”
Listen to Archbishop Michael Neary’s interview with Vatican Radio’s Ann Schneible: