One dark evening in 1879 in the village of Knock, in County Mayo, fifteen local people collectively experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. After two official inquiries, the village was declared a Marian Shrine. Over one million pilgrims annually visit Knock now, which has a population of just 2,000.
This captivating documentary is from the same team behind the award-winning One Million Dubliners, which despite its rather morbid subject-matter managed to create a humorous and warm film, thanks in no small part to charm and poignant contributions of tour-guide Shane MacThomais.
In Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village (the film takes its title from press coverage of the 1879 apparition) Fr Richard Gibbons is the main mover. A wily operator, he has been compared for his drive and endeavour to Monsignor Horan, the late begetter of it all. Blending his work as priest of Knock with his administrative duties at the basilica and shrine, there's also the small matter of fund-raising for a new basilica.
Aoife Kelleher's documentary is sprinkled with a range of other vignettes of faith, heart and humour but the main focus is on the characters both local and pilgrim alike, rather than religion. There's a woman who is certain she was cured of Multiple Sclerosis at Knock. Validation has not been granted yet, due to some professional doubt about the diagnosis. While another woman in her mid-forties has been diagnosed with the same condition and has come to Knock hoping for help from Our Lady.
Bernard Byrne in his shop: pictures of Pope Francis sell well
Then there's Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, a rogueish, larger-than-life figure who first appears on a recorded video message speaking at a news conference announcing the first New York diocesan pilgrimage to Knock. It may be a place of pilgrimage but it's also thriving industry.
To prove the point, the 150 pilgrims duly are duly welcomed at Knock Airport by none other than Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Dolan later tells his pilgrims to much laughter that be the same as if Barack Obama or Donald Trump had come to greet them.
Mildred Beirne, one of the handmaids at Knock
Other contributions come from the man who runs the information centre, a pious traditionalist, with trenchant views on abortion.
But there are also hints of less orthodox views too from people who have close connections to Knock. We hear from descendants of the people who saw the apparition in 1879, one of them a middle-aged woman who says the church must move on, now that there are gay marriages. Then there is Mildred, the handmaid or female steward, who says that handmaids should be able to carry the ceremonial lanterns at the front of the processions (the tradition is for the men to be the bearers).
The film reaches a kind of crescendo towards the close, as the new basilica is unveiled, built with no government grants at a cost of €11 million and funded entirely through contributions.
An illuminating, thought-provoking film, in Irish cinemas from Friday.
