President Biden visits Knock Shrine, Ballina Cathedral

Presidet Biden - official portrait

US President Joe Biden visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock on his last day in Ireland on Friday.

During the visit Biden had an unexpected meeting with Fr Frank O'Grady, the priest who administered the Last Rites to his son Beau who died of brain cancer.

Fr Richard Gibbons, Rector of the Shrine, told reporters afterwards that the meeting had been a "wonderful spontaneous event."

He said President Biden had been very emotional and they prayed a decade of the Rosary for the Biden family.

Later in the day the President was received into the St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina, by Bishop John Fleming, Bishop of Killala.

During his visit, President Biden was shown the baptismal entries of his great-great-grandfather, Patrick Blewitt and two of his siblings. President Biden was also shown the Minute Book that recorded the construction of the Cathedral in the early 1820s. The President lit a candle in memory of the Blewitt branch of his family and blessed himself with Easter water from the font in which his ancestors were baptised.

Bishop John Fleming said: "Mr President, Your great-great-great-grandparents, Edward and Mary Blewitt, brought their children to this Cathedral for baptism. In successive generations, your ancestors, including your parents, brought their children to baptismal fonts in your country, continuing the tradition of faith that began in this Cathedral.

The Paschal Candle 2023 represents Christ, the Light of the World. Your family has carried that light from this place to the New World and I now invite you to light a candle from the Paschal Candle in their memory. I also invite you to bless yourself with Easter water from the font in which your great-great-grandfather, Patrick, was baptised."

Leading prayers, he said: "God, Our Father, we thank you for the gift of faith and the gift of eternal life which flow from the waters of baptism and the Resurrection of your Son. Give eternal life to Neilia, Naomi, Beau and to the generations of the President's family who have gone to you. May the waters of baptism continue to bless the generations of his family to come with that same gift of eternal life. We make our prayer through Christ Our Lord. Amen."

In his address outside the Cathedral President Biden spoke about the importance of peace, family, and the ties between Ireland and America, saying he and his siblings were raised with a fierce pride in their Irish ancestry. Referring to the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement that brought an end to decades of violence in Northern Ireland, Biden said it was a reminder of the importance of peace and what can be accomplished when "we work together in common cause."

See also: President Joe Biden's Irish connection: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/41668