Sunday 14th June was First Communion Sunday un 2009 at the church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. The First Communicants are pictured below with fr Michael and Sr Maire before they made the traditional pilgrimage to the historic St Columba’s Well on the west side of Barra for the Rosary.
First Communions at Castlebay 2009
Throngs of visitors, residents and “family-come-home” packed the churches of Barra for the Triduum and Easter celebrations. Teams of parishioners polished and cleaned, rehearsed and finely-tuned their contributions to Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the great Easter Vigil. The Easter season has begun well on Barra & Vatersay in 2009.
Easter at Castlebay 2009
Ash Wednesday at Castlebay School 2009
Lent has begun on Barra with Canon Angus and Fr Michael leading the Ash Wednesday Service at Castlebay School.
Canon MacQueen dispenses Ashes.
The Christmas Season on Barra is still in swing with a special Christmas Mass celebrated at St Brendan’s Home and Hospital the day after the Feast of the Epiphany. The clients at Cobhair Bharraidh continued the liturgical celebrations when they joined the regular daily Mass attenders for liturgy at Craigston Church on Tuesday after Epiphany.
The annual Fishermen’s Mass takes place on the second sunday of July each year. Over 1000 people took part in 2008, but nobody counted the number of magnificently decorated fishing boats! Part of the Mass was filmed for a ITV programme on islands to be shown in 2009.
Barra fishing boats awaiting their blessing at the end of the annual Fishermen's Mass 2008.
Bishop Murray blesses the fishing boats of Barra and Vatersay in 2007.
Does your face, or the face of anyone you know, appear in this picture from a Fishermen's Mass in the past? We've got the clergy! Let us know....