Town centre Mass in Mullingar

Bishop Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, presided at an open-air Mass in the centre of Mullingar today at 11am.The Mass was followed by a Corpus Christi procession through the streets of Mullingar, led by the Mullingar Town Band and the newly formed Cathedral Gospel Choir (See videos on the Westmeath Examiner's youtube channel, or click the link on our home page)."The International Eucharistic Congress will welcome over 10,000 visitors to Ireland this week," said the bishop."Many visitors have come from countries, especially in Asia and Africa, which welcomed Irish missionaries over the past 150 years. The Church in these continents is now a rooted indigenous Church experiencing great growth."What impressions will these visitors take with them when they leave Ireland at the end of the week?"They will find a country whose people have experienced the pain of meteoric economic growth turned to dust. They will find a Church whose proud history has been tainted by scandal and sin."More in this week's Westmeath Examiner.