Lough Derg in Co Donegal will reopen to pilgrims on 1 May after being forced to close for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 10,000 people make a pilgrimage or retreat at St Patrick's Sanctuary during a normal season.
However, Prior Fr La Flynn adapted to the pandemic with initiatives like online pilgrimages, which saw over 1,000 pilgrims join in from all around the world, including Vancouver and Beijing.
It has been announced now that Lough Derg will return to its full programme this season with one-day retreats in May, August and September, and the traditional three-day pilgrimage from 1 June to 15 August.
A new museum has also been developed at the lakeshore, described as an "institutional memory" which charts the timeline of the pilgrimage island over 1,500 years.
The island is steeped in history, Fr Flynn said.
"Lough Derg has been a place of prayer since the fifth century, and the emergence of the pilgrimage to St Patrick's Purgatory made it famous across Europe all through the Middle Ages," he said.
Before the pandemic, the last time the Lough Derg pilgrimage season was suspended was in 1828.
The problem then was a row with boatmen over issues including the sale of poitín to pilgrims.
Prior Flynn said he is confident that Lough Derg is now back with a stronger mission than ever, building on foundations that reach back as far as Saint Patrick.
"In what has been a most challenging time for everyone, at Lough Derg we experienced our own challenges," he said.
"This is the year to encourage anyone who has always thought about visiting, or who has had the three-day pilgrimage on their bucket-list, to come and see what it is all about."
