St. Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient pilgrimage site on Station Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed Saint Patrick a cave, sometimes referred to as a pit, on Station Island that was an entrance to hell.[1] Its importance in medieval times is clear from the fact that it is mentioned clearly in texts from as early as 1185 and shown on maps from all over Europe as early as the fifteenth century. It is the only Irish site designated on Martin Behaim's world map of 1492.[2]
Foundation
Legend maintains that St. Patrick had grown discouraged by the doubts of his potential converts, who told him they would not believe his teachings until they had substantial proof. St. Patrick prayed that God would help him relate the Word of God and convert the Irish people, and in return, God revealed to him a pit in the ground, which he called Purgatory; by showing this place to the people, they would believe all that he said. By witnessing Purgatory, the people would finally know the reality of the joys of heaven and the torments of hell.[3]
Although in the nineteenth century there was some confusion about the actual site of the Purgatory — whether it was on Station Island or Saint's Island in Lough Derg — it's location on Station Island is clearly indicated from documents dating to the Middle Ages and from the detailed map of Station Island that appeared in Fr. Thomas Carve's book, Lyra Hibernica (1666).[4]
Given the sparsity of any documentation for fifth-century Ireland, it is not surprising that there is no proof that St. Patrick ever visited to Lough Derg. And while this is the legend, it is a rather late legend dating probably from the twelfth century.[5] There is however a much more firmly established tradition regarding St. Dabheog, a local abbot who presided over the site during the lifetime of Patrick. His name has been associated from these early centuries with several places in the area, for instance: St. Dabheoc’s Chair on the south bank of Lough Derg, the townland of Seedavoc (St. Dabheoc’s Seat), and a mountain in that townland, Seavadog Mountain. One of the islands in Lough Derg was also named after him: St. Dabheoc’s Island, which may have been Saints Island or another island entirely.
Development
By the 12th century the care of the site had been given to Augustinian Friars, who built a monastery on Saints' Island to allow a greater space for preparatory services to enter Purgatory. The church is a basilica. Pilgrims would be processed through this place, and would be given their final sacraments before the short sailing trip to Station Island. From the time of St. Dabheog, the notion of Purgatory and the desire to experience the afterlife on earth grew, so that by the 12th century pilgrims from all over continental Europe were traveling across the northern Irish countryside and walking the pilgrim path around Lough Derg. A fascinating account of a visit to Lough Derg by Spanish pilgrim Ramon de Perillos in 1397 is given in Michael Haren and Yolande de Pontfarcy's book, The Medieval Pilgrimage to St Patrick's Purgatory: Lough Derg and the European Tradition (Clogher Historical Society, 1988), along with several other pilgrims' accounts.
Though Lough Derg's international fame is diminished, it remains a sacred space and a way to experience Purgatory for faithful pilgrims all over Ireland. Today St. Patrick's Purgatory takes place on Station Island from June 1 until August 15 every year. Pilgrims fast (being allowed only one meal a day, of black tea or coffee and dry toast), pray all-night vigils, and make barefoot circuits around the stone remains of the ancient beehive cells (nicknamed beds) during their 3-day stay.
Modern Pilgrimage
Every year the main pilgrimage season begins in late May/early June and ends mid-August, on the 15th, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. It is a three-day pilgrimage open to pilgrims of all religions, or none, who must be at least fifteen years of age, in good health and able to walk and kneel unaided. Pilgrims, who should begin fasting at the previous midnight, assemble at the Visitor Centre on the shore of Lough Derg early in the day (between about 10 am and 1 pm). From there a boat ferries them on the brief trip out to Station Island. Once on the island they are assigned a dormitory room, and barefoot they begin a specified and almost continuous cycle of prayer and liturgies.
These prayers — the Our Father (or Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Apostles' Creed (all included in a booklet they receive)— are carried out at designated 'stations' on the island, including six 'beds' that are the remains of ancient cells or behive huts, named for famous — principally Irish — saints. These are thought to be the remains of early monastic cells.
Pilgrims spend the first night in the island's basilica in prayer, and only on the second night can they finally sleep in the dormitory. Each day on the island the pilgrims have one simple meal of dry toast, oatcakes and black tea or coffee. On the third morning they are ferried back to the mainland, where they will continue their fast until midnight.
There are also other programs throughout the year, including Quiet Days, Family Days, and One-Day Retreats.
The site is under the stewardship of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher. The staff includes people who can help with both spiritual and practical concerns. Facilities include a kitchen, laundry, first-aid station and book/gift shop.
Literature
Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii is a 12th-Century account in Latin of a pilgrimage to St Patrick's Purgatory.[6] Marie de France translated it into French and expanded it into the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick. Station Island (poetry) is a long poem written by Séamus Heaney about his experience of the pilgrimage. "The Lough Derg Pilgrim" [7] by the Irish writer William Carleton recounts his experience there, which led him to abandon thoughts of becoming a Roman Catholic priest; he converted to the Church of Ireland. Pete McCarthy's visit in 1998 is described in McCarthy's Bar.[8]
Famous pilgrims
Other notable pilgrims include:
- Georgius Ungarus, also George Crissaphan or George Grissaphan (Krizsafán fia György, in Hungarian), knight in the army of Louis I of Hungary[9]
- Malatesta Ungaro, Italian condottieri
- Laurence Rathold of Pászthó or Laurentius Tar (Tar Lőrinc, in Hungarian), a courtier in the court of Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary – the report of his pilgrimage: "memoriale super visitatione Domini Laurencii Ratholdi militis et baronis Ungariae factum de purgatorio sancti Patricii in insula Hiberniae" (only in Hungarian) [1]
- Guillebert de Lannoy, a chamberlain to the duke of Burgundy and knight of the Golden Fleece, made the pilgrimage in 1430.
- Francesco Chiericati, papal nuncio, visited the site in 1522
- Mary McAleese - President of Ireland
- Frank Duff - Founder of the Legion of Mary
References
External links
- ↑ Bieler, Ludwig. “St. Patrick’s Purgatory: Contributions towards an Historical Topography.” The Irish Ecclesiastical Record 93 (1960): 137–44.
- ↑ Leslie, Shane, ed. Saint Patrick’s Purgatory: A Record from History and Literature. London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1932 (http://www.worldcat.org/title/saint-patricks-purgatory-a-record-from-history-and-literature/oclc/668003)
- ↑ Gardiner, Eileen. Visions of Heaven and Hell before Dante. New York: Italica Press, 1989, 135–36. (http://www.worldcat.org/title/visions-of-heaven-and-hell-before-dante/oclc/18741120)
- ↑ http://www.italicapress.com/index411.html#BuildingsPast
- ↑ Haren, Michael, and Yolande de Pontfarcy, eds. The Medieval Pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory, Lough Derg and the European Tradition. Enniskillen: Clogher Historical Society, 1988.
- ↑ Picard, Jean-Michel and Yolande de Pontfarcy, Saint Patrick's Purgatory : A Twelfth Century Tale of a Journey to the Other World, (Dublin : Four Courts Press, 1985).
- ↑ http://www.worldcat.org/title/father-butler-the-lough-dearg-pilgrim/oclc/65662793
- ↑ (http://www.worldcat.org/title/mccarthys-bar-a-journey-of-discovery-in-the-west-of-ireland/oclc/45893432)
- ↑ http://www.italicapress.com/index410.html#IndividualAccounts