DUBLIN, Ireland (LifeSiteNews) — Thousands of Irish faithful marched across Dublin’s city center last Sunday morning to commemorate the canonizations of Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.
On September 7, over 1,000 Dubliners, including many young people, processed through the Irish capital’s busy city center, passing government buildings while praying the Holy Rosary and singing various hymns to mark the official canonizations of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome. The massive procession was the Emerald Isle’s third within the past year and comes at an increasingly secular period in the once-devout Catholic country.
“It was a phenomenal day for Dublin and for Ireland … as we processed with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament around some of Dublin’s busiest streets. There was a great sense of joy by everyone who took part,” Brian and Karen Brady, two of the event’s organizers, told LifeSiteNews via email.
“After a wet and dreary morning (as) the time for the procession came, the clouds lifted and the sun shone for much of the 5.5km route as we witnessed publicly to onlookers that our Catholic faith is ‘alive and well,’” they added.
A Eucharistic procession was a fitting way to honor the newly canonized saints, as both are known for their devotion to the Holy Eucharist.
READ: Pope Leo to canonize Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati in September
St. Carlo Acutis had such an intense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament that he created a website documenting all of the approved Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. During his life, Acutis referred to the Eucharist as “my highway to heaven.”
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, the son of the founder of Italy’s influential newspaper La Stampa, who as a student helped galvanize other Catholics to follow the social teachings of the Church and was firmly opposed to the anti-ecclesial moves of the communists in Italy, was also notable for his devotion to the Eucharist as well as the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In addition to honoring these saints, the Bradys emphasized that this event presented a “golden opportunity” to invite and encourage young people to witness and celebrate their Catholic faith by joining the organizing committee for the procession. Those efforts bore fruit.
“Our procession had people of all ages, and the youth were especially present!” they said. “Onlookers would have witnessed a very different image of the Catholic faith from what the media portrays it to be.”
“‘Courage is contagious, ‘ and the youth (and indeed all ages) stepped out in faith yesterday, to show ‘we are proud to be Catholics,’” they added.
READ: Head of Irish bishops to consecrate country to Sacred Heart for first time in over 150 years
The Bradys have organized two similar Eucharistic processions within the past year attended by thousands of marchers to counter the many evils in the country.
The first procession took place on September 14, 2024, on Dublin’s Northside to commemorate the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross. The second procession was held earlier this year on March 16, the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, in the city of Athlone.
The September 7 procession was also notably the first time Our Lord was processed over the famous O’Connell Bridge since 1932, when Dublin hosted the 31st International Eucharistic Congress.
The processions come at a time when Ireland has become increasingly secularized. According to the country’s 2022 census, 69 percent of the Irish identify as Catholic, a 10 percent drop from the previous census in 2016. Mass attendance has also declined dramatically, dropping from 93 percent in 1973 to 43 percent in 2008.
Photos credited to Karen Coffey:
