Press Releases17 Mar 15

The Archbishop of Canterbury Visits Downpatrick for St Patrick’s Day

The Most Revd Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, joined with The Rt Revd Harold Miller, Bishop of Down & Dromore, The Most Revd Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh, and other pilgrims from across the world and various Christian traditions at today’s traditional St Patrick’s Day pilgrimage walk from St Patrick’s Church, Saul to Down Cathedral, Downpatrick.

The pilgrimage got underway after an early morning service of Holy Communion at Saul at which the preacher was Dom Mark–Ephrem of Holy Cross Monastery, Rostrevor. Along the pilgrimage route, walkers stopped to pray for reconciliation in our broken world, in this land and between churches.

The third pilgirmage stop was outside Downpatrick Methodist Church at which the Archbishop of Canterbury launched a report to the Anglican Consultative Council and the World Methodist Council by AMICUM, ‘Into All the World: Being and Becoming Apostolic Churches’.

At Down Cathedral, Archbishop Justin Welby preached on a theme of Reconciliation at a festival service with contributions from Sullivan Irish Music Group, the cathedral choir, the McCartney School of Irish Dance and the Down & Dromore Year of Mission choir Kerygma.

Archbishop Welby based his sermon on the reading from Ephesians ch.2: ‘So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of teh apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.’

Drawing on contemporary concerns over human trafficking and the parallels with St Patrick’s life story, as well as recent events in Lahore, in Sudan and in the history of Northern Ireland, he said that ‘the best choice any person or society can make is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ’. He went on to say that God reached out and made us one with him, putting hostility to death so that those who are reconciled to God ‘light up the world by the radicality of the Gospel … [so that] gripped with Jesus the Church speaks of peace and reconciliation’. He continued by saying that ’the world needs the witness of those who’ve made the journey from enemy to friend … reconciled to reconcilers from whom reconciliation flows lavishly’.

While acknowledging that there remain many challenges in Northern Ireland, the Archbishop praised the work of reconciliation ‘embarked upon with courage – a gift of God to you for the world [to be] held in your hands as a treasure’.  Finally, the Archbishop called for Christian people to proclaim peace politically – ‘full of energy to change our world’, changing it ‘not by power but by vulnerability and love’ – and to be ‘at peace with God, at peace with each other and at peace with the world,’ continuing ‘to call for peace till the Lord returns, as Patrick did’.

Following the service, Archbishop Welby, accompanied by an ecumenical gathering of local clergy, as well as civic and political representatives, laid a wreath on the grave of St Patrick in the grounds of the cathedral before joing with 800 people for a lunch of Irish stew and apple pie.

The Archbishop of Canterbury continues his St Patrick’s Day visit to Northern Ireland with participation in a Peace Party for young people and young adults at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, concluding with prayers at Belfast City Hall, organised by Summer Madness and Church Army.

Photos: Paul Harron (CoI Press Office)