Your Eminence, Cardinal Sean Brady, Your Lordship Right Reverend Trevor Williams, Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick & Killaloe, Reverend George Flynn, Rector of Aughrim & Creagh, Mayor Pat O’Sullivan and members of Ballinasloe Urban Council, priests of the diocese of Clonfert and Pastoral Council members and people of the parish of Ballinasloe, Creagh and Kilclooney, you are very welcome to St Michael's Church today to celebrate the 150th anniversary or the sesquicentennial of its opening in 1858.
Is mór an onóir dúinn go raibh sibh in ann bheith linn ar an ocáid sollúnta seo. Céad go leith bliain ó shin a ceiliúradh an chéad Aifreann in Eaglais Mhicil Naofa. Le céad go leith bliain tá muintir Bhéal Átha na Slua ag teacht le céile san eaglais seo le haghaidh Aifrinn, na sacraimintí, pósaithe agus socraidí. Inniú gabhaimid buíochas do Dhia agus dóibh siúd a bhí páirteach i dtógáil agus i ndearú an fhoirgnimh álainn seo. Guímid ar son anamnacha na n-easbaig na sagairt agus na daoine a fhreastal san eaglais seo chun glóir agus ónoir a thabhairt do Dhia.
I welcome in particular Cardinal Sean Brady on this his first visit as cardinal to St Michael Church and to the Diocese of Clonfert. In 1858 the chief ecclesiastical dignitary was Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman from England whose portrait we display today. Now we’re delighted to welcome Cardinal Brady from up the road in Co. Cavan to our diocese, our parish and our town. Your visit certainly adds to the celebration here today and le cúnamh Dé it will also help in the general process of renewal for our people, young and not-so-young alike. I also welcome Rt Rev Trevor Williams, newly appointed Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe of which group of dioceses Clonfert forms a part.
It is 150 years since the official blessing, consecration and opening of this church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. As it turns out 1858 was a very important year in the Catholic Church. A few months earlier in the same year, Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette at Lourdes. The actual date of the consecration was Wednesday 25th August 1858, so we are celebrating a little in advance of ourselves as the Clonfert pilgrimage to Lourdes is on next week.
Planning for a new church began in 1842 and in 1846 a design by James McCarthy was approved. However the project was shelved due to the famine. Five years later in 1851 McCarthy’s plans were revised by the famous English architect, Augustus Pugin and work commenced with the laying of the foundation stone in 1852. The undertaking of such a large project would be daunting at any time, but only four years after the famine this was an enormous task. Nonetheless, the work was completed in six years and we celebrate the faith, the generosity and the commitment of people, priests and the bishop of the diocese, John Derry.
Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, who was a friend of Edward Pugin son of Augustus, came from England as the main ecclesiastical dignitary for the ceremony. This visit of Cardinal Wiseman to Ireland was a huge event. He was the first cardinal to set foot in Ireland since Cardinal Rinucinni over 200 years earlier and though Ballinasloe was the main purpose of his visit, he also preached in Dublin, Dundalk, Maynooth & Carlow. In each of these venues but particularly in Ballinasloe there were huge crowds gathered, the crowds that would now gather for a pop star or a sports star. According to an article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia “Cardinal Wiseman's domestic trials during 1858 were agreeably varied by his visit to Ireland in the early autumn of that year – a visit which the enthusiasm of Irish Catholics transformed into a kind of triumphal progress, and during which he delivered, in different parts of the island, sermons, lectures, and addresses afterwards printed in a volume of four hundred pages. Cheered by the warmth of the welcome accorded him by Irishmen of every class and creed, he returned home, improved in spirits.”.
His Eminence travelled from Holyhead to Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) on Monday 23rd August. A delegation of priests and laity from Clonfert met him off the boat and escorted him to Dublin. On the following day, the Cardinal travelled from Dublin by train to Ballinasloe. A large group of people in horse-drawn carriages was at the station to meet him. On the way to the town, his carriage was stopped and as a sign of special honour, men from the parish drew the carriage in relays to the centre of the town. That was then and this is now!
It was a glorious occasion. On Wednesday the consecration began at 7.00 a.m. and continued with clergy alone present until 11.00 a.m. Then, the church was opened to laity and there was a Pontifical High Mass with Bishop Derry as the celebrant and Cardinal Wiseman as the preacher. The sermon alone was over an hour and Mass concluded around 1.00 p.m. However, you can relax, as neither Cardinal Brady nor I intend to emulate these times.
Further additions and embellishments took place over the years. The bell-tower and the spire were added in 1887. In the 1920’s the present altar with the recumbent figure of the dead Christ by the sculptor Albert Power was added. Some years later, Harry Clarke installed some windows and painted the mural on the chancel arch. In 1976 there was a major re-ordering following the liturgical changes of the Vatican Council. And then after the accidental fire of 2001 further re-ordering took place under the aegis of the late Mr Tom Mullarkey of Derry. Thus, in the years since 1858, priests and people have maintained and developed St Michael Church as befits a growing parish. Today on the 150 anniversary of the consecration, we recognise their work and commitment as well.
What is a church anyway? A place where a community assembles to pray and worship. Each Sunday the people gather to celebrate the Eucharist along with their priest. The Mass is the sacrifice that renews Christ's offering of himself on Calvary and is the centre of our faith. It also commemorates the Last Supper in which Christ gave us his body and blood as our food and drink.
In particular, the altar is the table of sacrifice, the table of the Lord. Christ becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine. This presence is not just for a time - it is a continuing presence and the tabernacle is the place where the Eucharistic Christ is reserved. The ambo is the place of God's word. Here the scriptures are proclaimed and explained. The word of God is alive and active and it forms part of each Mass we celebrate.
Apart from the Mass, the church is the normal place of celebration of the other sacraments as well. Each sacrament in its own way brings us into contact with Jesus Christ. Christ welcomes the new member at Baptism. He forgives sin in the sacrament of Penance and at Confirmation, he strengthens us on our journey. In Marriage, the love of two people is sealed in the church. Christ is present in all of these situations through his sacraments. Thus, it is in this building that we have a rich source of meeting with Christ.
But the church building, for all its importance would be useless unless there is a believing, a praying and a listening community. Very many churches have become museums. They have lovely art and decoration but no longer do they have a community of believers. For all their style, they no longer serve the purpose for which they were originally built. To that extent, a church is secondary. Without a praying and a believing people, it has no real meaning or value. Now we have a beautiful building with a simple and a very prayerful atmosphere. It is, as I said, a permanent reminder of God in our world. But a believing church is not made of stone and wood. It is built on the prayer and faith of a people. To quote from Cardinal Wiseman’s sermon 150 years ago, “The Faith maintained itself unshaken and unaltered because, not merely had it taken root in the soil to the depth of the foundations of its holy places, but deeper far in the hearts, in the consciences, in the souls of the people, even to a depth that all the influences of the earth could not reach.”
This was the theme of Cardinal Wiseman’s sermon and it is the theme of my homily today. Faith comes from a family and a home. Unless we have praying families, then community and parish churches will not be of much use. The first community we meet is the family itself. This has to be a community of prayer, of faith and of love. To make sure that our current young people will gather here in 2058 to celebrate the second centenary of St Michael Church, we need to ensure that they will have a grounding in faith and a commitment to the life of the church such as sustained generations of the past. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.” (Ps 127:1)
Today we give thanks for what the past generations have handed on to us. We pray that we will be faithful to their trust. Moladh go deo le Dia.