CELEBRATIONS took place across Ireland and further afield yesterday as St Patrick’s Day was marked in style.
But one of the earliest was likely the annual prayer service held at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, where the man himself is buried.
St Patrick’s grave is located just outside the cathedral in Co. Down and is a site of regular pilgrimage for many.
Each year on March 17 prayers are said at the graveside at 5.45am.
The prayer service held yesterday morning at St Patrick’s graveThe session sees pilgrims recite St Patrick’s Breastplate, which is a lengthy prayer for protection, before praying a hundred Our Fathers.
This year’s event drew people from far and wide yesterday morning, including a man named Patrick Ahaotu.
Now living in Belfast with his wife, Mr Ahaotu hails from Nigeria, where they also celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
Sharing his own story with his fellow pilgrims, he explained that he has always celebrated March 17 as he was taught by Irish priests, and the feast was traditionally a day where their school would be closed.
Patrick Ahaotu from NIgeria, who is now living in Belfast, was among those who prayed at St Patrick’s grave at dawn“I was named after our church and there were Irish priests there and I was also in the seminary minor and the priest there was Fr Flatley and so moving to Northern Ireland I had that love of St Patrick,” he explained.
Mr Ahaotu further revealed that he had not known St Patrick’s grave was located in Co. Down prior to hearing about the special prayer service.
Siobhan Brennan from Dromara organised the prayer serviceAround twenty pilgrims gathered at the grave for yesterday’s third annual prayer service.
Siobhan Brennan, from Dromara in Co. Down, claims the was inspired to organised the event after she read that St Patrick typically rose early to pray as many as a hundred Our Fathers each day.
Patrick Ahaotu and Eileen Boden from Newcastle, were among pilgrims who gathered at St Patrick’s Grave“Standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow believers, in the darkness of a crisp, early Irish spring morning, while reverently repeating the Lord’s prayer in harmony with nature, is a profoundly moving spiritual experience,” said Mrs Brennan.
“It is something God has put in our hearts to pray very simply for unity in Christ,” she added.
“My hope is that from small acorns great oak trees grow and that little flames of prayer will emerge in different parts of Ireland particularly those associated with St Patrick where there are wells, schools and churches named in his honour.”