Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Venerable Matt Talbot Shrine Dublin 1, Ireland
​​Matt Talbot Year
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This Year we remember in a special way Venerable Matt Talbot, whose 90th anniversary of his death we are commemorating this year.
Coming from a poor and deprived background, Matt had found himself sucked into the culture of addiction and embraced alcohol as a means of escape from the misery and poverty of daily life.
Today, we live in an age of addictions more sophisticated than ever before; addiction to alcohol and a wide range of drugs, to gambling, pornography and the internet, addictions to work, money and power. All these have the ability to destroy our lives and often end up eating away at our very souls as well.
Matt Talbot came to a realization of how his own life was being wasted, and from the time of his conversion as a young man of 28, he spent the rest of his life living to a heroic extent the Christian virtues through prayer, spiritual reading, work and acts of charity.
We believe that Matt has a strong message for today, and can be a role model to the Irish young people of our time. His life is a testimony of how people can, by God's grace and their own self-acceptance, say no to that which leads to addiction or addictive behaviours. Matt sets before us a radical example which demonstrates how young persons in particular can do extraordinary things.
January
25th Sun Launching of Matt Talbot Year: Novena Mass @ 3pm; Opening of Exhibition on Matt’s life
February
1st Sun Family Support Network - Remembrance Service of Victims of Addiction
6th Fri Matt Talbot Novena Mass – St. Agatha’s Church @ 7.30pm
18th Wed Ash Wednesday; Way of the Cross
22nd Sun Matt Talbot Novena Mass @ 3pm
March
6th Fri Matt Talbot Novena Mass – St. Agatha’s Church @ 7.30pm
25th, 26th & 27th Matt Talbot Retreat
29th Sun Palm Sunday Youth Event; Matt Talbot Novena Mass @ 3pm
April
3rd Fri Good Friday; Way of the Cross
26th Sun Vocations Sunday; Matt Talbot Novena Mass & prayers for Consecrated Life @ 3pm
May
1st Fri Matt Talbot Novena Mass – St. Agatha’s Church @ 7.30pm
3rd Sun Matt Talbot – Date of Birth
31st Sun Matt Talbot Novena Mass @ 3pm (Fr. Michael Shields)
June
5th Fri Matt Talbot Novena Mass – St. Agatha’s Church @ 7.30pm
6th Sat Nightfever Candle Light Vigil
7th Sun Corpus Christi; 90th Anniversary of the death of Matt Talbot
14th Sun Matt Talbot Day – Novena Mass to commemorate the 90th Anniversary
Other Initiatives
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Walking tours in Matt Talbot Places
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Extended opening hours of shrine from 8am to 4 pm
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H.O.P.E. Remembrance Service
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Pilgrimage to Ireland by the Philadelphia Units of the Calix Society
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Pioneer Pilgrimage to Knock in honour of Matt Talbot
