Knock is a large village in County Mayo, Ireland. Its notability is derived from the Knock Shrine, a Catholic shrine and place of pilgrimage where, according to Catholic beliefs, that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist may have appeared on 21 August 1879. There is much international skepticism on this event due to the age of the witnesses and lack of evidence supporting the event. In the 20th century, Knock became one of Europe’s major CatholicMarian shrines, alongside Lourdes and Fátima. It was one of the focusses of Irish peace pilgrimage during the Second World War, when the Catholic Irish prayed for peace and to prevent the spread of war to the island. One and a half million pilgrims visit Knock Shrine annually. Pope John Paul II, a supporter of devotion to the Virgin Mary, visited Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition. Knock is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Costello. On 26 August 2018 Pope Francis visited the shrine at Knock as part of a visit to Ireland for the 9th World Meeting of Families.
Knock comes from the Irish word “cnoc” meaning hill, historical evidence shows the village had been named that as far back as 1625. The Irish language name was changed to “Cnoc Mhuire” meaning the hill of the Virgin Mary after the visions. The parish and village of Knock is sometimes referred to historically and in Lewis’ 1837 topographical dictionary as Knockdrumcalry (Cnoc Droma Chálraighe) meaning “hill of the ridge of the Cálraighe“.
The civil parish of Knock covers 45 townlands. Thirty five of the townlands are in the barony of Costello. The remaining 10 townlands along the central western boundary of the parish are in the neighbouring barony of Clanmorris. Knock is located five miles from the town of Claremorris (one of the major market towns of the early 19th century) and is between Claremorris and Ballyhaunis.
MonsignorJames Horan (1911–1986) became parish priest of Knock in 1963. During his tenure his accomplishments included the construction of a new 10,000 capacity basilica, Our Lady, Queen of Ireland, at Knock Shrine in 1967. He was also involved in the construction of Ireland-West Airport, and a visit by Pope John Paul II to Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition.
[caption id="attachment_214542" align="aligncenter" width="491"] Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions, sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, were the first European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. After a remarkable odyssey, his bones are now in the Sevill...
