Biden’s Irish sojourn gets religion as the president prepares to tour shrine visited by two popes
Biden embraces his faith as the president prepares for a tour of the shrine visited by two popes and Mother Teresa, then speaks outside a cathedral where his ancestors once worshiped
- Biden will visit an Irish shrine on the last full day of his trip to Ireland
- He also visits a clinic associated with Beau Biden, plus another genealogy stop
- The final speech will be outside the cathedral in the town where Blewitt’s ancestors hail from
President Joe Biden will visit places of religious and ancestral significance on Friday on the last full day of his trip to Ireland, on a journey that has hitherto been secular and deeply personal.
After tracking down some Finnegan family connections on the east side of the island in County Louth, Biden flies to County Mayo, where he also has family connections in the Blewitt branch of his family tree.
He will visit the Knock Shrine, an Irish pilgrimage site that has been visited by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis, as well as Mother Teresa.
It is one of many stops where the president will rethink faith and family, a day after addressing the Irish Parliament and speaking at a banquet.
President Joe Biden has a Friday program that includes a visit to an Irish shrine and a speech outside a cathedral in Ballina, where some of his ancestors lived
According to the shrine, a heavenly apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared there in 1879.
Biden, a practicing Catholic, arrived here on Tuesday and has no time for worship in his schedule.
According to local media, he is expected to pray privately there.
He then follows his ancestry trail again, this time with a visit to the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Center. The area is where Biden’s Blewitt relatives hail from.
As Biden has referenced throughout his journey, his great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt bought the town of Ballina for Scranton during the Great Famine.
Biden had a more secular day on Thursday when he addressed the Irish parliament
Biden was received at a banquet on the third day of his trip
Biden will speak outside St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, County Mayo, shortly before returning to the US.
It is Ballina who has chosen Biden and his vanguard team for the final speech of his trip. He has scheduled an evening speech outside Saint Muredach Cathedral in County Mayo.
It certainly has a picturesque backdrop of the cathedral, situated on the River Moy.
Earlier in his day, which begins around lunchtime, Biden is scheduling a private visit to Mayo Hospice, a center with a plaque bearing the name of his late son Beau, whom Biden referred to during his speech to the Irish general assembly on Thursday.
Biden “turned the sod” there during a groundbreaking 2017.
After his speech, Biden will head back to the US, although he declared “I’m home” during his address to the Irish parliament, in his final declaration of his love for Ireland.
But he’s not ready for the White House just yet. The president plans to spend the weekend at yet another of his homes: his beach house in Delaware.