Thousands of pilgrims have braved the rain to see Pope Francis at a shrine revered by Irish Catholics and then later a Mass at Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
The engagement at the holy shrine of Knock, in Co Mayo, saw the pontiff call for reconciliation in Ireland.
He then attended an outdoor Mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, for which half a million people had tickets although the weather appeared to have deterred many from attending.
An aerial view of the crowd at Phoenix Park in Dublin (Liam McBurney/PA)
Pope Francis attends the closing mass at the World Meeting of Families (Danny Lawson/PA)
A papal flag and Irish tricolour were flown from the cockpit (Yui Mok/PA)
Pilgrims waited in the rain for Francis’ arrival at Knock Holy Shrine (Niall Carson/PA)
Around 1.5 million people now visit the site every year (Niall Carson/PA)
Francis climbed the steps of his Popemobile ahead of a tour through the thousands of pilgrims (Niall Carson/PA)
In his address, Francis begged for God’s forgiveness as he called for firm action in pursuing justice for church abuse victims in Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)
He added that no-one could fail to be moved by stories of young abuse victims who were ‘robbed of their innocence’ and left with ‘painful memories’ (Niall Carson/PA)
