'I know Limerick': Pope Francis lived in the city while learning English

THE LATE Pope Francis stayed in Limerick revealed Bishop Brendan Leahy during his homily at a special Requiem Mass for the pontiff in St John’s Cathedral.

“Any time I met him he said, ‘I know Limerick’. What I understood from that was that he probably stayed here in Limerick in 1983 when he was in Ireland / Dublin at Milltown Park learning English.

"There was a Jesuit house here in Limerick, so it’s possible he stayed here while travelling around," said the bishop of Limerick

Bishop Leahy added that it is only one month since the group of pilgrims from Limerick, on the Limerick Diocesan pilgrimage, were blessed to have gone to the Gemelli hospital to see the Pope as he came out of hospital that day after five weeks.

"We were all so moved as he greeted us and blessed us, even if he was obviously weak," said Bishop Leahy.

READ MORE: Pope Francis is 'a light that will shine forever for us all' - Bishop of Limerick

Separately, Bishop Leahy said that it is incumbent on all in the Church to continue to walk Pope Francis’ journey of “inclusion”.

Speaking ahead of a gathering for prayer and reflection this Thursday with LGBTQI+ people, along with family members and allies, at the JPII Oratory at the Crescent Shopping Centre, Bishop Leahy said that Pope Francis had left many great legacies, including the need for a more inclusive Church.

The prayer gathering is an initiative of a joint working group with a particular focus on LGBTQI+ of the dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe. It is part of the response to the Universal Synod’s invitation to engage with those who feel "excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity or sexuality".

Bishop Leahy said it will be an opportunity to listen and pray together with LGBTQI+ people and their loved ones.

“Pope Francis has left us many great legacies and one of them is that we must become a more inclusive and listening Church. He was very much a Synodal Pope, a Pope of journeying and brought us all with him on that. One of his key themes on this ‘journeying’ was inclusion, to pay attention to those who have been marginalized or excluded.

“LGBTQI+ people are amongst those with whom we are obliged to engage in a more deliberate and meaningful level and our prayer gathering is putting that into action.”

The small working group established to look at this area has organized a number of meetings to which LGBTQI+ people were invited.

Early in the process also, Dr Jessie Rogers, a Scripture Scholar, was invited to speak on what the Bible might have to say on this issue and the group also worked through Fr James Martin’s text Building a Bridge over a number of meetings and invited a psychotherapist who works in this area to identify some of the issues he encounters.