Knock Shrine’s Witness to Hope programme is an ambitious project that emcompasses a refurbishment of Our Lady’s Basilica, greater promotion of the site as a place of pilgrimage and enhancements to its faith development programme.
The Witness to Hope office can be found at the centre of the shrine grounds and it is a hub of activity on a daily basis. Part of the comings and goings are local parish volunteers who have stepped forward to become part of the re-invigoration of their beloved holy site by offering their time and energy.
“With the Witness to Hope programme Fr Richard Gibbons wanted us to have as many people as possible in the grounds and involved in it. Not just because we want to get the message out but also we want to raise that sense that this is our church, this is our parish, this is our place,” says Monica Morley.
Monica is the Director of the Family Centre, but also co-ordinates the Witness to Hope volunteers from Knock parish.
“This particular group is mainly people from the parish. There are the Stewards and Handmaids which would be nationwide, and the youngsters in VAKS would be from the schools around the diocese, but the Witness to Hope volunteers would be very much people from the parish,” she says.
“We have had a very good reaction. I have been astonished. It is not a very big parish but there is a strong sense that this is our place.”
In total there are about 120 volunteers, but they work in different ways. The volunteers come from different walks of life and slot in their time around their daily life. Those who aren’t working come in on weekdays to welcome pilgrims, man the information desk or to help with promotional materials. Some come in the evenings or at weekends to fill information packs and input information on the computer.
“What we have tried to do is give opportunities whereby people of the parish can volunteer in ways that suit their lifestyles. So people who are working day-to-day, Monday to Friday, can’t volunteer on those days but many of them are quite happy to do an hour in the evening or on a Saturday afternoon. So what we have done is to tailor-make what volunteering at Knock can mean,” Monica says.
“So if you are working all day you might do an hour on a Saturday morning. We have quite a few young mothers who leave their kids at the crèche and come in for 11am on a Wednesday and have a coffee and then go out and do the meet and greet. There is a lot of older people in the parish who are happy to come in on a Thursday morning and prepare information packs for us to have them ready for the weekend.”
Monica says one aspect of the project that has become very successful is a once a month meeting of the volunteers at the St John’s Rest and Care Centre to fill information packs.
“We ask local people to give one hour between 6-10pm. It is a kind of rolling shift. We have tea in the background and they are meeting each other and they do their shift and then they head off. We have about 155 from the parish for that and it is as much a social event as a working event, and that is what we want. The volunteers have to be getting something back. We have to make sure they are treated well.”
Questions
Padraig Keogh volunteers two days a week from 10-4pm meeting and greeting pilgrims. “I work as a Knock shrine ambassador, so I go around the grounds with a hi-vis jacket answering questions and handing out visitor guides. I also work in the office and people often call in looking for directions or asking for bus to Galway or where to find Confessions, or the museum or recommendations for somewhere to eat,” he says.
“I love talking to the pilgrims. I am so passionate about Knock so it comes very natural. I love the place and I can see that it helps a lot of people, so if I can be of any help I am quite happy to do that.”
Breeda Burke retired from working in Knock Shrine last Christmas, but decided to come back to help as a volunteer.
“I would meet and greet people coming off the buses and provide a map if they need one, direct them and tell them where the different services are. I have met pilgrims from all the different countries. Language can be a barrier sometimes but you can always point them in the right way,” she says.
“Some people could tell you their life story, their problems and why they came to Knock. You listen and give them a sympathetic ear. We get a lot of Americans, French and Japanese. Some days you only meet Irish people. For me it is about meeting people. You feel good when you help put somebody on the right road and some old people find it difficult to get around.”
The Witness to Hope volunteers have review meetings once a month, where they are asked what they feel is working and what they think should be changed. The project is evolving to suits the needs of the people of the parish and to integrate their suggestions.
“In that sense it is very much a work in progress,” Monica says. “The whole idea is that we will build up a sense of parish, community, sharing and witnessing to hope. We have a good story to tell and we want to meet people and share the good news.”
In their own words...
Tom Finn, Steward
“One of the last witnesses to die, Patrick Byrne, was my grandmother’s uncle. I joined because of him. I am a third Sunday steward so I come here once a month. It’s nice to be able to help people. There was no message and nothing was said here. People talk about the silence and it is the kind of place that you can be with your thoughts.”
Kathleen Mooney, Handmaid
“I have been a handmaid for 35 years. Knock appealed to me because Our Lady has been very good to me. I had problems in my family and she solved a lot of my problems. It is a joy coming to Knock. I always feel good going home and I get something out of it. I feel very privileged to be a handmaid.”
Kevin Murphy, Steward
“We were founded in 1935 by Dame Judy Coyne and her husband. This year we celebrate our 80th anniversary and on August 21 there will be a special ceremony here led by Archbishop Michael Neary. His father and mother were a steward and handmaid. We help pilgrims, direct them where to go and maybe walk with them and talk with them to lighten their burden.”
Mary Jordan, Handmaid
“I enjoy talking to people. You think you might have problems yourself but they are only minor compared to what some people have. They sometimes like to talk about their problems and I help to help people. I think it’s Our Lady that brings me to Knock. There is something very special here and you always go home a happier and freer person.”