The monastic site of Skellig Michael lies off of the coast of County Kerry, in the Atlantic Ocean. The remote island was once home to monks, who lived a life of necessary self sufficiency, solitude and prayer.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and recently made even more famous through the Irish government’s decision to allow Disney to film Star Wars there, the site has been in use since the foundation of a monastery by Augustinians in the early medieval period.
The unique location, its evocative representation of the purity of Celtic Catholicism and its proximity to the picturesque Atlantic views of Kerry have all contributed to Skellig Michael becoming the most precious of all of the treasures of the Irish faith.
This past week, a number of priests travelled by boat to Skellig Michael for Mass atop its peak and to say a prayer of consecration of Ireland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Pure and Chaste Heart of St. Joseph.
The occasion drew on the wide variety within the Irish church with priests were from a wide variety of orders and backgrounds, including Servant Home of the Mother, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Institute of Incarnate Word, Capuchins, Order of St. Camillus, Salesians, Franciscans, Dominicans and Kerry and Cork and Ross Dioceses.
The consecration prayer read ‘We ask the Holy Family of Nazareth to guide, protect and defend all families in our country and protect all married couples from the attack of secularism’ while also seeking a ‘spiritual renewal.
Ireland is a canvas which has had its colours brought to light with the oils of our Christian heritage, may we never forget that.
You can watch an incredible video of the Mass and consecration below.