Following the Confirmation ceremony on Tuesday 17th April, Bishop Fintan blessed and dedicated the newly installed stained glass window of St. John Paul in the Church of SS John & Paul. This work was commissioned by the parish last year to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the parish 1967-2017. The work depicts a photo of Pope John Paul II taken on the steps of the Aer Lingus plane at Shannon Airport on the 1st October 1979 as he gave his final blessing to Ireland on the first ever visit to the country by a Pope.

The work was created by a Derry City Art Glass Company. The photograph is the work of the late Padraig O’Reilly from Fergus Drive, Shannon, and he took it on his first assignment as a freelance photographer for the Clare Champion newspaper. His wife Mary and son Padraig attended the dedication with Bishop Fintan. We acknowledge the support we have received from the staff of Art Glass Ireland, Christy Collins who painted the frame of the window, The O’Reilly family who gave us permission to use the photograph and the many people who have made donations and contributions to date towards the cost involved. Thanks to Joe Buckley and Padraig O’Reilly for the photos.