Our Lady of Knock Shrine
The Carmelites will celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass outdoors (weather permitting) at 11:30 a.m., Monday, August 17, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock on the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown, NY.
The Carmelite’s Shrine of Our Lady of Knock has a long history. Although the Shrine in Middletown was dedicated in 1991, the beautiful statues’ first home was at the Carmelite’s Our Lady of the Scapular (OLS) church on 28th Street in Manhattan.
The Carmelites’ love and devotion to the Blessed Mother knows no bounds. Those bonds were further strengthened when the Blessed Mother appeared with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist in the little town of Knock, Ireland in 1879.
The Carmelites’ love and devotion to the Blessed Mother knows no bounds. Those bonds were further strengthened when the Blessed Mother appeared with St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist in the little town of Knock, Ireland in 1879.
Pilgrims from all over the world flocked to the site to pray at what was to become the Irish Shrine of Our Lady of Knock.
In 1948 the Irish Carmelites in New York worked diligently to elevate the Shrine to the shrines at Lourdes and Fatima. Their success spawned the birth of a number of shrines to Our Lady of Knock around the world.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Knock remained at OLS until the church was closed in 1989. Credit to the shrine’s second life at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was due to the efforts of three Irish brothers, Fr. Brendan Hourihan, O. Carm., Fr. Emanuel Hourihan, O. Carm, and Msgr. James Hourihan.
