Fortnight of Novena events begin in Limerick under 'celebrating family' theme

THOUSANDS of worshippers from all over the Mid-West will travel to Limerick this week for two annual Novena celebrations in the city and county.

As the solemn Novena in Kilmallock comes to a close this Saturday, the well-known celebration at the Redemptorist Church will kick off this Friday morning.

The Kilmallock Novena began on June 8 and will conclude at St Peter and St Paul’s Church this Saturday.

The city service will last nine days, from June 15 to June 23, and Mass will take place 10 times, between 7am and 10.30pm.

The theme of this year’s Novena is “Celebrating family”, marking Pope Francis’ visit to the triennial World Meeting of Families in Dublin this August.

“The Novena is almost overwhelmingly family centred, really. Last year, we focused on family and this year, we are going to focus on family as well,” he said.

He said that, not only is it part of the spiritual and religious element of the city; it is also part of the social fabric of Limerick.

“It is a very special expression of our relationship with the city,” Fr Enright told The Leader. Fr Enright said that since he was ordained in 1980, “one of the most significant areas of change in Ireland has been around family”.

“The majority of families lived in a fairly traditional two-parent family. Not everybody did, of course. But the majority did.

“That has gone through an extraordinary change, really. We have families now in every imaginable shape and size. And we would like to say that they are all welcome here. Everybody is welcome here, no matter what their personal circumstances and every family is welcome here, no matter what the shape or structure of the family is.”

Every year, anonymous petitions — personal prayers — are read from the pulpit, each looking at issues that are affecting individuals and families.

Fr Enright said that Leaving Cert exams, housing, employment and addiction are likely to feature in this year’s Novena petitions.