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St. Cathaldus and Me

 

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St. Cathaldus, Canty and Me

My name is Marie Ahearne and I am in sixth class in Whitechurch National School. One day last October, we learned in class that a Saint had left Ireland to go to spread the word of God and ended up in Taranto in the South of Italy.

This Saint’s name was Cathaldus and he came from Canty, which is the area where I live. We then found out that a delegation from Taranto, led by Archbishop Papa, were coming to Dungarvan and were going to visit the birthplace of Cathaldus, which is Canty. The County Council were giving a reception for the visiting delegation in the Civic Offices in Dungarvan and I was selected to say a few words to the delegation on behalf of the pupils and staff of Whitechurch National School.

Here is a picture of me on the right with Archbishop Papa in the Civic Offices.

 Three others from my class were asked to form a Guard of Honour. They were Gillian Mcgrath, Shane Flavin and Alan Curran. Some pupils from the Friary in Dungarvan were also in the Guard of Honour. I was quite nervous before the speech but I had practised a lot and it went well.

I was pleased when it was finished. After all the speeches there was some entertainment for the Italian delegation and some food and drink. My friends and I received a watch each from the County Secretary.

Here is a picture of the invitation to the Civic Ceremony  on Friday night.

On the following Sunday there was a mass in St. James church Ballinameela. Just before mass a plaque was unvailed to commemorate the visit. Earlier in the morning the delegation visited Canty to see the birthplace of St Cathaldus were another plaque was unvailed.

Here is a picture of the plaque being unveiled.

After the blessing of the well we went back to the church for another Guard of Honour and sang in the choir at mass. After the mass the Italian delegation went for a meal and the following day they went back to Taranto.