Today we traveled from Naas, where we spent the night, to Kildare. Kildare was a very cute, small town with lots of flowers. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny, and there was a nice breeze. First, we stopped at the visitor center where we watched a short film about the history of the town and about Saint Brigid. Saint Brigid is one of Ireland’s patron saints along with Saint Patrick. This film told the story of how Saint Brigid started a monastery in Kildare.
After this, we visited Saint Brigid’s Protestant Church, and some of the group climbed the second tallest tower in all of Ireland. They got some great pictures! After this we visited Saint Brigid’s Catholic Church where we saw a beautiful icon of Saint Brigid.
Next, we visited Saint Brigid’s Well. Here, we had some quiet time to reflect upon our trip and our personal expectations for the pilgrimage as we approach the conference. We also tied a ribbon on a nearby tree at the well, representing something we each were praying for. There were many different beautiful ribbons tied around the trees near the well. It was touching to see that so many different people have visited the same place for so many different prayers.
The rest of the day consisted of traveling to our final destination, Dublin. Here, we split up and did some shopping and sightseeing, and eventually met up for dinner.
It has been great experiencing, this amazing trip as a group and spending so much time together. I feel as though we’ve grown very close as a group, and I’m looking forward to growing even closer at the Young Mercy Leaders’ Pilgrimage.