St Peter's Church may be elevated to a basilica

Irish Independent

29-04-2025

Visitors from all over the globe regularly call into the distinguished church to see the head and shrine of St Oliver Plunkett.
Now the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, and Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin wants to see the historic building elevated to a Basilica
This is a special honour that can only be bestowed upon a famous church by a ruling Pope.
But the Archbishop seems very hopeful and confident it can happen if the people of St Peter's Parish and his fellow Irish Bishops get behind the move.
He also believes making St Peter's a Basilica will transform it into a church for the international community.
In an interview with Ken Murray on LMFM he said; "In Knock we have the Basilica of Our Lady of Knock which is also an international Marian and Eucharistic Shrine. It's more than simply a parish church or a parish place.
"So I would want to be sure in my heart that this is what the people in the parish would like.. And if so, we can always apply for it to Rome, to the Holy See and I would certainly support that. I would imagine we would also have the support from the various Bishops of Ireland.
"In many ways to do such a thing would be to mark a church which is very dear to the people of Ireland and especially to the people in our Archdiocese and in Louth.
"I think it is something that we could apply for. One of the things we would need would be for the people of the parish to be clear that that is what they would like.
'I suppose in some ways there is something beautiful about St Peter's Church is that its also a parish church. It's very much an alive parish congregation who are there.
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"A Basilica will bring demands on a place to be open very much nationally and internationally but that's something that certainly you know.
"I've spoken to the Parish Priest about this and it is certainly something I would support."
All year round buses pull up with tourists at St Peter's so they can see the church and St Oliver.
The town around the country and globally is known as much for St Oliver's relic as much as the Battle of the Boyne.
The move to a Basilica would give a much needed boost to the town centre which has been struggling to retain footfall lately.
St Peter RC Church was designed by John O'Neill and William Henry Byrne,built in a French Gothic Style of local limestone ashlar and opened its doors in 1884.
It is renowned for its tall west gable rose window. The church is 222 feet high.
St Oliver Plunkett was hung, drawn and quartered in Tyburn, London in 1681.
His national shrine in St Peter's contains his preserved head, his shoulder blade and other bones as relics along with the cell door of Newgate Prison where he was detained before his execution for his faith.