Summer Festival in Clonmacnois

Some of the huge turnout in Clonmacnois in the main marquee

I'm back in Dublin again after a super few days at the Youth 2000 Summer Festival at Clonmacnois.

The event was run brilliantly and was attended by over 1,200 young people. It was great to see that well over half were there for the first time.

At the final Mass on Sunday, those who were thinking of a religious vocation were asked to stand. A great number stood up. Let's keep those young men and women in our prayers. If any of you are interested in a chat about life as a religious, feel free to give me a shout at prescall@eircom.net

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Here are some photos from the experience...

A view of the iconic round tower at Clonmacnois

I'm happy clappy...

The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the main marquee

With Catriona after the Closing Mass

Young people gather for the healing service on Saturday night

England Prepares for the Pope

Pope Benedict XVI will visit the United Kingdom from Thursday 16th September to Sunday 19th September 2010.

I'm in Reading at the moment and will be back in Ireland at the end of the week for the Youth 2000 Youth Festival at Clonmacnois. While I've been here I've noticed that the parishes and the people are making preparations for the visit of our Holy Father in September.

The official website for the visit has plenty of material including the official programme for the Pope's tour which begins in Scotland on September 16th. The Pope will spend Friday 17th and Saturday 18th September in London and will bring the visit to a climax on Sunday 19th September in Birmingham.