As you know, today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of Lent. What some of you younger readers may not know is that, in years gone by, Lent was the time for Parish Missions. In St Patrick's Parish there was always a Men's Mission, a Women's Mission and a Mission for the School Children. Sometimes there were two Men's Missions and two Women's Missions! There would be a Mission for the married men and one for the single men. The same applied for the women, a Mission for the married women and one for the single women. The Mission was given sometimes by Redemptorists, sometimes by Jesuits and I remember one given by Franciscans.
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| The Men's Mission, St Patrick's Church, Lent 1953 |
This amazing picture is copied from St Patrick's 100th Anniversary Book and it shows how well attended were those Missions of yesteryear. Just look at that crowd! Even the aisles are blocked with men. We know such scenes could never take place today, and not only because of health and safety rules either. What would it take today to get this many men, after a hard day's work, to turn up for a couple of hours praying and preaching?
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