PAUL FAITHSt. Mary’s Chapel is pictured at St. Patrick’s Purgatory, on Lough Derg, which was closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic on July 27, 2020. Dating back to the fifth century, the holy site is a place of Catholic pilgrimage, where the faithful usually flock for three days of fasting, barefoot prayer and all-night vigils. Ireland recently announced lessening restrictions, including for public Mass.
Following a year of pandemic-induced disruption, Irish lay Catholics speak.