Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust

Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust is a new Irish charity whose members and directors all share a common desire that the Catholic Faith will be promoted by the development of Catholic faith-related activities in the area surrounding the ancient monastic site of Clonmacnois, Co Offaly. This ruined monastery is only relatively recently being rediscovered for its very rich Christian faith heritage aspect and has been attracting increasing numbers of pilgrims, particularly amongst the under 40 age bracket who have been finding much consolation and peace there. The members and directors have already acted in one capacity or another in relation to the promotion of Catholic faith activities at Clonmacnois.

At its foundation in c. 545AD, the original purposes for Clonmacnois were prayer, monasticism, pilgrimage, Christian craftworks and education. The Late Cardinal Cathal Daly referred to Clonmacnois as being a Living Centre of Christian Prayer and Pilgrimage. Our vision is that the renewal of these aspects of Clonmacnois’ Faith Heritage today will serve as an anti-dote to society’s many ills that include youth anti-social behaviour, depression, suicide, corruption and unfaithfulness.

It is the vision for the Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust that it will serve, by provision of land, buildings and other practical assistance, as a support to the good work that is already taking place there and also form a basis for new initiatives. It is foreseen that Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust would have a broad base and serve a broad age range. It is also intended that the Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust will make preparations to provide a basis for the renewal of monasticism at Clonmacnois, subject to the appropriate Ecclesial Procedures, and for the year round presence of personnel who are engaged in the work of promotion of the Catholic Faith in Clonmacnois.

There is no doubt that Clonmacnois has an ongoing and continuous Faith Heritage already however there is much more that still needs to be done. Some of the Catholic Faith based activities that happen in Clonmacnois today are as follows:

• Annual Pattern Mass
• Annual Ecumenical Day of Prayer
• Youth 2000 Summer Youth Prayer Festival
• Private pilgrimages to the Monastic Core
• Various offerings of the Mass at the site by visiting priests
• Regular praying of the Long Station at the monastic core/ St Ciaran's well by local people and other individual pilgrims/ pilgrim groups
• Annual Vocations Weekend Prayer Event
• Funerals and Christian Burial
• Annual Graveyard Mass
• Occasional Weddings
• Visiting graves and Prayer for the dead
• Annual Global Day of Prayer (Ecumenical)
• Weekly Mass at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre
• Monthly All Night prayer vigils at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre
• Sacred Music Training weekends at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre
• School Retreats at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre
• Private retreats at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre
• Proposed Summer School at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre based on the Irish Saints
• Private pilgrimages to the monastic core for private prayer and consolation
• Pilgrim Walks
• Private Sacred Study retreats at Cluain Chiarain Prayer Centre using extensive Christian Library bequeathed by the late Fr Paddy Kenny, RIP
• Annual Diocesan Youth Pilgrim Walk

The initiative of Clonmacnois Faith Heritage Trust is also in keeping with and is a practical response to Pope Benedict XVI’s appeal for a renewal of church life in Ireland, as embodied in the prayer he commissioned for Ireland.