They came from Wexford, Manchester and even India, driven on by the hope that in this rain-soaked corner of western Ireland the mother of God would appear to them this weekend.

All along Knock’s main street the pilgrims slept in vans and motor homes, all hoping to book a space near the site where a Dublin-based spiritual healer predicted the Virgin Mary would materialise.

Joe Coleman’s visions of a Marian apparition on the exact spot where villagers claimed they saw the Virgin Mary in 1879 have created a fervour across the Catholic world.

Coleman complained that the Catholic church had not made a priest available to recite the Rosary with him and the thousands gathered in waiting. Describing himself as “a visionary of our Blessed Mother”, he said the visitation would only be visible “to people who come with an open heart”.

Read more:

Guardian: Thousands await Knock’s new Virgin Mary vision

Recommended Books:

GCSE Religious Studies Revision Guide: Pt. 1 & 2 (Revision Guides)

GCSE Religious Studies OCR B Ethics Revision Guide

AS and A Level Religious Studies: Philosophy & Ethics Through Diagrams: Oxford Revision Guides

Religious and Moral Education for Scotland Level 3

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