Pope Francis: Limerick parishes to fill bus seats and trains for big visit

THOUSANDS of worshippers from every parish in Limerick are preparing for one of the biggest public events of the decade, as Pope Francis touches down in Ireland this week.

This Tuesday evening marked the launch of the triennial World Meeting of Families celebration, as several dioceses—including Limerick—hosted public parties ahead of the papal visit.

Pope Francis will make an appearance at Croke Park this Saturday, addressing some 80,000 people, and will visit Knock the following morning. There were just 45,000 tickets for this event.

The main event will take place at Phoenix Park later that day when the Pope will conclude his Irish tour with the Solemn Mass, in front of 500,000 people.

Earlier this week, the Pope condemned the “atrocities” of clerical child sex abuse in a letter to the “People of God”.

Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy, who previously called for this issue to be addressed during the papal visit, welcomed the letter describing it as a “clarion call”.

“There are absolutely no words good enough to adequately apologise for the abuse perpetrated by representatives of the Church and the abysmal failure to manage and report cases. There can be no justification for any type of cover up anywhere. Nothing that is said can take away the pain of those who have been abused and of their families.  I completely accept that.  But it is essential that we acknowledge the darkness of what has happened.”