Order Of Malta Online Pilgrimage

This Sunday, August 30th, we welcome all members of  The Order of  Malta Ireland  to join us online for a virtual pilgrimage to Knock Shrine.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly called The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), or simply the Order of Malta,or the Hospitallers, is the oldest order of chivalry in the world. Over the past 900 years, since its foundation in Jerusalem in 1099, it has provided constant service in the alleviation of suffering among the poor and the sick throughout the world.

In 1938, the Irish Association’s Chancellor, the Marquis Patrick MacSwiney of Marshanaglass, and Dr. Charles Conor O’Malley, Professor of Opthalmology and Otology in University College Galway, commenced the Ambulance Corps’ services as the Association’s primary charitable activity. The first unit was established at Galway. Within ten years, ambulance corps’ units were established in other Irish cities and towns, and they are still actively engaged in providing emergency medical assistance to local and rural communities.

The annual pilgrimage to Knock Shrine is one of the most important events in the calendar year of the Order. The Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Richard Gibbons, PP, Rector at Knock Shrine. Online ceremonies begin with Rosary at 2.30pm. Mass from Knock Basilica will be streamed live on www.knockshrine.ie  and on the Knock Shrine Facebook page.