St. Patrick Parish celebrates shrine patroness, Our Lady of Knock, with novena, spiritual prayer and adoration

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

On a rainy night in Ireland, the villagers of Knock witnessed what is now known as the apparition of Our Lady of Knock. The Blessed Virgin Mary, joined by St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, who donned a bishop’s miter, standing near a sacrificial lamb on an altar of sacrifice surrounded by a host of angels, appeared to 15 villagers who had gathered to pray. During the two-hour apparition, Our Lady did not speak; however, the meaning of her appearance is understood to be one of hope, that God had not forsaken or forgotten his people during the famine.

“Our Lady of Knock had not forgotten the children after that potato famine, and just the brutal conditions in which the Irish were living at that time. That God had not forgotten his people,” said Father Jeff VonLehmen, pastor of St. Patrick Parish and Shrine, Taylor Mill. Since St. Patrick Parish’s designation as a shrine to Our Lady of Knock in 2007, parishioners gather once a year, from Aug. 14–22, to pray a novena to its patroness.

“It’s a prayer for inner peace and peace in the world,” said Father VonLehmen.

Throughout the nine days of prayer, participants have the opportunity to write their petitions and put them in a basket. At the conclusion of the novena, the prayers are stowed beneath the altar so that they are remembered at every celebrated Mass in the coming year. At the end of the year, the petitions are burned and placed in the parish’s grotto.

“People feel like their burdens are seen and heard, and heaven hasn’t forgotten them, just like Our Lady of Knock had not forgotten the brutal conditions in which the Irish people were living at that time. God had not forgotten his people,” said Father VonLehman.

At the conclusion of the Novena, Aug. 22, the prayerful are invited to an adoration and benediction to celebrate the conclusion of the novena. During adoration, the final rosary of the novena will be prayed, with special prayers, music and accounts from witnesses of the Our Lady of Knock apparition.

“It’s a beautiful, meditative service that lasts about an hour,” said John Schaefer, parishioner and musician for the event. “It’s quite moving.”

“There’s something about it that just lifts your spirits and makes you feel closer to the Lord,” said Sharon Drees, parishioner and organizer of the event. “You have the actual presence of the Blessed Sacrament there with you, and Mary just taking you by the hand and helping you be present to that … She wants you to be with her son.”

For those unable to attend in person, the novena can be prayed at home.

“The ultimate goal is to develop a hunger to be with Christ,” said Mrs. Drees, “for that service, during that time, it just becomes timeless. You truly do get a sense of the eternal.”

“Come, soak up Heaven, soak up a miracle, and just contemplate what something truly meaningful is in a world that is lacking so much meaning… when heaven comes in and interrupts, it’s a powerful, beautiful thing to meditate on,” said Mr. Schaefer.