The Jubilee Year of Mercy which Pope Francis announced for 2016 comes to a close this Sunday, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Diocese of Killaloe named Mount St Joseph Abbey a place of special pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year and designated one of the doors of the Abbey Church as a Holy Door or ‘Door of Mercy’.
In August the Music Ministry Together Summer School, which was taking place at Cistercian College, designed a replica Holy Door which was blessed at the beginning of the course and then used as a reminder of the Year of Mercy during their liturgies. At the end of the summer school they presented the replica Holy Door to the monastic community.
This Sunday we are delighted to welcome Bishop Fintan Monahan, the new bishop of Killaloe, to Mount St Joseph Abbey to mark the close of this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Bishop Fintan will celebrate the 10:30am Mass together with the monastic community, the students and staff of Cistercian College and the Brendan and Cronan Cluster Choir.
At the end of the Mass, to mark the close of the Year of Mercy, the replica Holy Door will be taken in procession to the Chapel of St Cronan where it will be installed and blessed. It will serve as a reminder to us of the Jubilee Year and the Holy Door of Mercy.
