Courtney McGrailStaff Reporter
Shannon’s second ever ‘Mercy on the Mall’ event was a “tremendous success”, the local parish priest has said.
Following the success of last year’s event in Skycourt Shopping Centre, diocesan clergy were contacted this year by the centre’s management, Fr Tom Ryan PP told The Irish Catholic. “Skycourt management got calls asking when was Santa going to be at the centre,” he said, “but also they got calls asking was confession going to be at the centre.”
With the backing of the new local bishop, Killaloe’s Bishop Fintan Monahan, Fr Tom said he and 19 priests heard confessions in the centre from 1pm until 6pm on December 8, with “all the priests kept occupied”.
Describing the event as “encouraging for priests”, he said he had been told people had come forward to confess matters the priests “might not normally be hearing in their parishes”.
He said the clergy would need to reflect on whether this should be a new way of reaching out to people, as well as a way of “bearing witness to the Gospel in the marketplace”.