Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II on 1 May

29 Apr 2011

PRESS RELEASE

29 April 2011

Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II on 1 May

  • Cardinal Seán Brady to celebrate Mass of thanksgiving for Irish pilgrims attending the Beatification on 2 May

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, is attending the Beatification of John Paul II in Rome on Divine Mercy Sunday, 1 May 2011.  For media queries please contact Father Timothy Bartlett in Rome on: 0044 7879 416685.

A vigil of preparation for the Beatification will take place on 30 April from 8.00 pm to 10:30pm in the Circus Maximus of Rome.  The event will be organised by the diocese of Rome, and Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Pope Benedict XVI’s Vicar for Rome, will preside.

Cardinal Brady; Cardinal Desmond Connell, Archbishop Emeritus of Dublin; and Bishop John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross, will participate at the Beatification Mass which will begin on Sunday, 1 May at 10.00am.  Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the Mass which will be celebrated in St Peter’s Square.  No tickets are required for this Mass.

On 2 May Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, will preside at a Mass of Thanksgiving in St Peter’s Square at 10:30am.  The Vatican has stated that the remains of John Paul II will then be transferred to the Chapel of Saint Sebastian in St Peter’s Basilica, and that the event will take place privately.

On the same day at 3.30pm a Mass of thanksgiving for Irish pilgrims attending the Beatification of John Paul II will be celebrated by Cardinal Brady at the Basilica Parrocchiale di Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella, which is close by the Pontifical Irish College in Rome.

For more information on the Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II, please see special feature on www.catholicbishops.ie

Further information:

Father Timothy Bartlett in Rome 0044 7879 416685

Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444