Priest swaps water for wine as he performs Mass in Irish pub

A priest was forced to perform his popular mass in an Irish pub for 250 members of his congregation after his church was forced to close for renovations.

Vincent and Adrienne Clarke, owners of The Irish Pub and Restaurant in Luxembourg, said they initially thought Father Michael Cusack’s distress call was a hoax.

The couple, originally from Sligo and Louth, were actually on holiday when they received the unusual request.

According to the couple, Father Michael had heard that the pub was very large with plenty of parking space and since the place was usually closed on Sundays anyway, he asked if they would mind having it set up for his service.

Adrienne said, “I initially thought this must be a scam. I said to Vincent: “You won’t believe it, but an Irish priest just called asking to say mass in our pub!”.

Speak against LMFM Radio’s late lunchshe continued, “Vincent fell around laughing and then said, ‘No, seriously, who was on the phone?’

But when they found out the call was real, the pair didn’t hesitate to help the Father in his mission.

Once he got permission, Father Michael, the Irish Redemtorist priest, erected his altar in the 800-square-foot warehouse-turned-pub.

Parked under a Hop House 13 sign, it remained there for two weeks so that his parishioners could come and say Mass while his church was closed.

Adrienne and Vincent founded the pub, restaurant and whiskey shop called The Irish Bar in 2016 and say it is often the go-to point for Irish people moving to Luxembourg.

Father Michael, originally from Galway, Ireland, had never met the couple but had heard of the pub and how big it was.

The Irish Pub and Restaurant is usually closed on Sundays so that the business would not lose any revenue.

With an altar set up and the word spoken, Father Michael says 250 of his congregation joined him on two Sundays in late January, while another 250 joined the service online.

Father Michael, who lives in a Redemptorist Monastery, revealed that the church had been closed by the state for renovations archaeologists were there to discover if city walls had been built underneath.

According to the priest, the excavations could take up to six years and the closure meant that his entire congregation, which consisted of 1,000 English-speaking Catholics, was displaced.

The former warehouse was converted into a bar and restaurant in 2016 by Adrienne and Vincent Clarke

He said, “We had mass there [Adrienne and Vincent’s pub] for two Sundays and then, I think that was enough to shame the diocese into trying to find us a new place.’

Father Michael joked that while he didn’t turn water into wine during the two services, on the last day they did open the bar afterwards and have a “beautiful party.”

After mass in the pub, Father Michael has now moved to three different churches in Luxembourg so that he can continue his service.

Adrienne and Vincent have told Father Michael that he and his parishioners are welcome if they ever need space again.