Legion of Mary August Bulletin 2018

Legion of Mary Annual Outing: to Glenstal, Limerick, Birdhill & Nenagh.

On the 17th July two members of our Legion of Mary Praesidium were among 48 people who went on the Legion of Mary annual outing.

Our first stop was at Glenstal Benedictine Monastery for our morning tea break. There we were met by a member of the community who outlined for us the history and way of life of the Benedictines.

After that we went on the road to Limerick City where at the Crescent we visited the Sacred Heart Church. This was the former Jesuit Church which was closed in 2006 and sold to a developer who intended to convert it into a Spa and Leisure Centre. But thankfully a new religious order, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, was able to obtain a mortgage to purchase the Church in 2012. Work is ongoing on its restoration. Here we were welcomed by Canon O’Connor, who is only seven years ordained. He gave us an informative talk on the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and their work in the local parish. Two other Priests and a Seminarian were in residence with him there.

This order, founded in 1990, has gone worldwide and as of January 2018 they have 104 Priests (average age 39), 81 Seminarians (average age 24) and 37 Sisters, Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus. Sovereign Priests are serving the Church in 64 Dioceses in 12 different countries.

In Ireland they also have churches in Galway, Ennis and Belfast. In Limerick they have two Masses every day, as well as Adoration and prayers of the Church. On Sundays catechism classes are held at 12 o’clock. The priests are also involved in youth ministries and retreats.

On leaving Limerick city we proceeded to Birdhill Church for Mass, celebrated by Fr. O’Rourke, who was baptised and said his First Mass in Birdhill Church. Here we were met by Fr. O’Keefe P.P. After spending some time in this picturesque village, which received the Tidy Towns Award in 2017, our group partook of an evening meal in the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh before setting off on our homeward journey.


Click to expand the photos below.