The last 'full' day of our current pilgrimage saw us heading out of Belfast to the town of Downpatrick to visit the (Church of Ireland) Cathedral in the town, a location which also hosts the grave of St Patrick, St Brigid, and St Columcille.
The Cathedral is a unique combination of the original construction and a more contemporary setting, which I'm not sure works, and like other such buildings it lacked a certain 'something', as if it was no longer primarily a place of the worship of God. Again, that feeling could entirely be down to me.
After taking a brief coffee and comfort stop at the St Patrick's Visitor Centre in the town, we moved on the St Patrick's Church for the celebration of Mass.
The church dates to the late 1780s, but has clearly been extended and refurbished since the original construction. The result is, in my opinion, very tasteful, and provides a wonderful space for the celebration of the contemporary liturgy by the community.
One of the features of the church is a series of mosaics that feature excerpts from the life of St Patrick, the viewing of which was a highlight of this visit to St Patrick's Church, Downpatrick.
After Mass, we returned to the St Patrick's Visitor Centre for lunch.
An unplanned visit today was to the Saul Church, a church built in the 1930s on a site reputedly gifted to St Patrick as home. The word 'saul' is a corruption of the Irish word for barn, which is exactly what St Patrick was a given.
It's an interesting site. Unfortunately, we were unable to get inside the church because there was a service underway, but it was a good stop to make, completing the connection with both Down Cathedral and St Patrick.
And then it was back to Belfast for some downtime before dinner.
