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Irish Independent
23-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Message of unity and peace as thousands take part in Cork city's Eucharistic procession
Amid the brightly coloured sparkling umbrellas of the Indian Syro-Malabar community and Ukrainians in traditional vyshyvanka or embroidered shirts were the Dominican friars in their black and white habits. They were joined by Franciscans in brown habits, members of the Legion of Mary and young Catholics from Youth 2000, as the procession made its way across the River Lee via the Christy Ring Bridge. Once again, the Butter Exchange Band led the event with fittingly solemn religious hymns, as it has since the procession started almost a century ago. Cork city's traffic ground to a halt to allow the religious parade pass. In his address at the concluding outdoor benediction on Grand Parade, Bishop Fintan Gavin said the procession was 'not simply a tradition or a spectacle' but a 'proclamation' and 'a living testimony'. He prayed for 'a war-torn world that needs peace and healing now more than ever' and for families striving to stay together amid pressure and pain, young people searching for meaning and purpose in a chaotic world, for the elderly who feel forgotten and migrants who feel alone. Cork's Lord Mayor, Fergal Dennehy, recalled how the procession had been established in the first years of the new State as a way of bringing people together in the aftermath of the Civil War. 'Given the state of our world today I think it is very important that the message today was one of unity and peace,' he told the Irish Independent. 'Today we can see the expanding community in Cork here. It is a very different community to what it was 99 years ago when this procession began. There is a great sense of togetherness here today.' Trish Harrington has been a member of the Butter Exchange Band for 46 years and has played in the procession for every one of those years. 'It was only men in the band up until 1978, I was the first uniformed female in the band.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Wife and husband, Noreen and Liam Willis from Cork, take part in the procession every year with their fellow parishioners in Mayfield. They recalled how as recently as 40 years ago the procession was a male-only affair. The men walked while women and children stood along the route looking on. 'In later years, it became more family-orientated so everyone is walking,' Noreen explained. Another Cork local, Frank O'Neill, was one of those who watched the procession yesterday as mobility issues prevented the 66-year-old from taking part, which he has done annually since he was an altar boy. 'The streets were packed,' he recalled. 'The mothers and the children would be looking on as the men walked in the procession. It is nice to see the different nations adding colour and swelling the numbers now.' Husband and wife, Taras and Anna Kushnir from Ukraine revealed that they met in Cork in 2003 under the Shandon bells and their three boys were all born in Ireland. Participating was not just about faith but expressing gratitude to Ireland.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Disaster team begins work on Brescia University's hail damage
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — Owensboro's Brescia University was damaged in this weekend's storm, but are finding ways to ensure classes resume as normal on Monday, March 16. School officials are grateful it's spring break and no students were on campus. 'There's going to be a lot of work involved. It's going to be a long and very expensive process,' says Father Larry Hostetter, the president of the university. Since Saturday morning, teachers, staff and students have been working quickly to make repairs to the school in an effort to keep academics on track. As hail as large as baseballs plummeted toward the building, the university's president says they quickly realized their roof wouldn't be able to take the load. 'We had water here in our cardio room, throughout this whole floor. Water was just coming down in sheets…going to the floor. We had pretty significant damage. Our greenhouse at the science building, some cars and houses' siding [were also damage],' says Father Hostetter. Officials say the student center, known as the Moore Center, took the hardest hit. Despite it being Spring Break, everyone jumped in to help vacuum up water and drain out rooms, as ceiling tiles hung out of place above them. 'It was a kind of a losing battle because it was raining all day,' says Father Hostetter. A disaster team will step in Sunday to take over recovery efforts before classes resume Monday. Students won't be able to use the cardio room, and athletes won't be lifting weights in their usual space. 'All of our academic buildings are okay. There was a little water in there, but not enough to cancel classes. We fortunately were able to cover up all of our exercise machines quickly, so they won't be damaged,' says Hostetter. Downstairs, one thing the storm didn't affect was the hosting of Youth 2000. Youth 2000 is a retreat for over 600 catholic youth annually held for over a decade. 'The gym is unscathed. That has a new a roof on it. There's no damage at the gym at all. In other places, they just had to walk around some buckets of water here and there,' says Hostetter. The university president says in terms of what happens next, there's one thing they can always be certain of. 'I think the community will rally around us. So, we have a special place on [ for people who want to donate to help with the disaster relief. We really appreciate any help we can get along those lines,' says Hostetter. Officials say Owensboro Catholic Middle School was also damaged. OCMS will be closed on Monday and students will have an NTI day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
