Biden embraces his faith as the president prepares to tour a shrine visited by two popes and Mother Theresa, then speaks outside a cathedral where his ancestors once worshiped.
- Biden will visit an Irish shrine on the last full day of his trip to Ireland
- He also visits a clinic associated with Beau Biden, as well as another genealogy stop
- The final speech will be outside the cathedral in Beloit’s ancestral town
President Joe Biden will visit sites of religious and ancestral significance on the last full day of his trip to Ireland on Friday, in what has been a very secular and personal trip thus far.
Having tracked down some of his Finnegan family connections on the east side of the island in Louth County, Biden travels to Mayo County, where he also has family connections on the Blewitt branch of his family tree.
He will visit the Knock Shrine, an Irish pilgrimage site visited by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis, as well as Mother Teresa.
It is one of many stops that will make the President think again about faith and family, after a day of addressing him in the Irish Parliament and addressing him at a dinner.
President Joe Biden has a schedule on Friday that includes a visit to an Irish shrine and a speech outside a cathedral in Ballina, where some of his ancestors lived.
According to the shrine, there was a heavenly apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in 1879.
Biden, a devout Catholic, arrived here on Tuesday, not having any time for worship on his schedule.
Local media reported that he was expected to perform a private prayer there.
Afterward, he returns to following the trail of his ancestors, this time by visiting the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogy Center. The area is where Biden Beloit relatives are from.
As Biden has been pointing out throughout his trip, his great-grandfather Edward Beloit was a Ballina township in Scranton during the Great Famine.
Biden was more secular on Thursday when he addressed the Irish Parliament
Biden hosted a banquet on the third day of his trip
Biden will speak outside St. Moridach’s Cathedral in Ballina, County Mayo, shortly before returning to the United States
It’s the ballena chosen by Biden and his advance team for the final speech of his trip. He has an evening speech planned outside St. Moridach’s Cathedral in County Mayo.
Sure to have a picturesque backdrop, the cathedral is situated on the Moi River.
Earlier in the day, which starts around lunchtime, Biden plans a private visit to the Mayo Hospice, centered on a plaque bearing the name of his late son Beau, who Biden referred to Thursday during his address to the Irish General Assembly.
Biden ‘turned the fool’ there during 2017.
After his speech, Biden returned to the United States, although he declared “I’m home” during his speech to the Irish Parliament, his latest testament to his love for Ireland.
But he’s not ready for the White House yet. The president plans to spend the weekend at another home of his: his beachfront home in Delaware.
