By Marilyn Madigan
This past March, the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade Theme was the Celebration of the Life of St. Brigid. Many beautiful floats were designed to highlight this theme, with the best float won by the Irish American Club East Side, with a large Brigid’s Cross, pictured on last month’s iIrish cover.
This year is the end of the commemorative of the 1,500 years since the death of St. Brigid. St. Brigid is the Patron Saint of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. The Hibernians have been celebrating her feast for the past 131 years.
When traveling to Ireland these past two years, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians traveled as pilgrims to important sites in the life of St. Brigid. The first stop was the National Shrine in Faughart, County Louth. The Shrine is a very peaceful setting for meditation.
The pilgrimage concluded in Kildare, where her monastery was established. At St. Brigid Cathedral, each member had the privilege of ringing the church bells for peace and their special intentions.
Brigid’s relics are located at the Catholic Church. Both years the highlight of the pilgrimage was the visit to Solas Bhride.
Solas Bhride keeps the fire of St. Brigid burning and is the place of her Holy Well. This year, the LAOH had the opportunity to participate in a mini-retreat with Sr. Philomena. What a special opportunity.
We visited the well with a special reflections and prayers for each other, our ancestors and our world. St. Brigid was a woman of peace and when leaving Solas Bhride, we all could feel the Spirit of St. Brigid. If you are visiting Ireland, I would suggest a visit to Kildare.
