As at this season many pious Christians visit the Purgatory of St. Patrick
in Lough Derg, for the performance of penitential works, we have been
requested to supply, from authentic sources, a history of that pilgrimage.
In compliance with this request we give the following account of it,
extracted from Dr. Moran’s _History of the Archbishops Of Dublin_, where
he treats of Dr. Fleming.(44) That Archbishop writing on the 20th of
August, 1625, to the Internuncio in Brusselles, makes the following
statement:
“The pious and innumerable pilgrimages of the faithful this year
are a pledge of great fervour; for, like bees to the beehive, so
do they daily flock in such numbers from every corner of the
kingdom, for penitential purposes, to a certain island, which is
called the Purgatory of St. Patrick, and which is situated in the
centre of a lake, that many have been obliged to return without
satisfying their pious desire, there being no room for landing on
the island. This pilgrimage, though, through the bitter
persecutions of heresy, it has been almost abandoned for many
years, was once so celebrated throughout the Christian world, that
many from the most distant parts even of the continent visited it
in a spirit of devotion. The manner of performing the pilgrimage
as it is now observed from ancient tradition, is as follows:—Each
person, from the day he arrives in the island till the tenth
following day, never departs from it. All this time is, without
intermission, devoted to fasting, watching, and prayer. If they
wish to give rest to their body they must sleep on the bare
ground, and for the most part under the broad canopy of heaven.
They receive but one refection, and that consists of bread and
water. It is incredible what severe austerities and bodily
mortifications females, as well as men, and persons of every age
and of every condition, endure, whilst they perform this
penitential course; and during twenty-four hours they are shut up
in certain caves, like unto prisons, where they pass the whole day
and night entirely absorbed in prayer, and receiving nothing to
eat or to drink.
“I have thought it well to mention this fact, for, I am sure, your
excellency will be rejoiced to see that the natives of this
island, by this so great and so unparalleled an impetus of
devotion, seek to appease the anger of God; and we may confidently
hope, that by their fervour He will be appeased, who listens to
the prayers of those who have recourse to Him in their
afflictions.”
The contemporary, Messingham, describes the course of penance
performed in the island somewhat more in detail than has been
already given in the letter of Dr. Fleming. “During the nine days
of the pilgrimage”, he says, “a rigorous fast was observed on
oaten bread and the water of the lake. The pilgrim was first
conducted barefooted to the church of St. Patrick, around which he
moved on his knees seven times inside, and seven times outside,
repeating all the while stated prayers of the Church. He was then
conducted to the seven places of station, known as _lecti pœnosi_,
which were formerly small churches, or sanctuaries, dedicated to
various saints; and at each of these he repeated the visit as
above. The next station was around a cross in the cemetery, and
subsequently at another cross that was fixed in a mound of stones.
Thence he proceeded, _over a rough and rocky path_, to a spot on
the border of the lake, to which tradition pointed as the place on
which St. Patrick had knelt in prayer. Here, also, certain prayers
were appointed to be recited. All this pilgrimage and prayer was
repeated three times each day—morning, noon, and evening—during
the first seven days; on the eighth day it was repeated six times;
confession and communion followed on the morning of the ninth day;
and then the pilgrims entered the cave, where twenty-four hours
were devoted to fasting and meditation. Any that choose not to
enter the cave, passed these twenty-four hours in solitude at one
of the former stations”.(45) The seven _lecti pœnosi_ were
dedicated to SS. Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Brendan, Molaisre,
Catherine, and Dabeoc, who was the patron of the place. During
Catholic times there was an elegant church in the centre of the
cemetery, and, besides other relics, it possessed some of our
glorious apostle. This church, with the seven cells, or smaller
churches, was still standing at the time of Peter Lombard, who
adds, that “the English deputy did not dare to prevent the
pilgrimage or profane the place”.(46) He also describes the cave
as “situated a few paces to the north of the church, being a
narrow building, roofed with stone, which could contain twelve,
or, at most, fourteen persons, kneeling two and two.(47) There was
one small window, near which those were placed who were bound to
read the breviary”.
“This solitary island was looked on as a place which had been
chosen by saint Patrick for retreat and silent prayer, and for
exercising those deeds of penance for which his whole life was so
remarkable. Hence it derived its name of Purgatory, or place of
Penance, of St. Patrick.(48) But whilst it was thus for the
inhabitants of Ireland a chosen retreat of prayer and penance, its
fame on the continent assumed another form. With the troubadours
it became a favourite theme. Calderon immortalized it in Spanish;
in Italy, it attracted the attention of Dante and Ariosto; and
many popular tales about St. Patrick’s Purgatory are still extant
in French and Portuguese. It thus became a matter of romance; and
poetical imagination conducted the penitents who visited the
Island of Lough Derg, at first to the regions of Purgatory, and
subsequently to the abodes of the blessed or of the damned.
“On the dawn of the so-called Reformation, Protestant writers
seized on these poetic tales as if they were matters of sober
fact, and availed themselves of the fictions of romance to cast
ridicule on the practices of Catholic piety and devotion. For some
time, indeed, they did not dare to offer violence to the pilgrims,
who hastened thither with unabated fervour. During the reign of
James I., however, the chapels or oratories on the island were
demolished; but this did not satisfy the fury with which the
enemies of the Catholic faith assailed its sanctuaries and
shrines. Enraged at the numbers who, despite their threats,
continued to flock to this penitential retreat, the lords
justices, in 1632, made a last effort to desecrate ‘the holy
island’. After publicly announcing that, in the opinion of the
Papists, there was a passage from this island to the other world,
and an entrance to the realms of Purgatory, they gave orders to
have the whole island dug up, and that especially no portion of
the cave should remain undestroyed; and thus, says Dr. Mant, was
made known ‘the imposition of the Irish clergy’. But we should
much rather say, thus did the predecessors of Dr. Mant reveal to
the world the blindness of their bigotry, and afford a new
instance of the frenetical fury, by which alone they were guided,
in upturning the sanctuaries of Catholic devotion. Borlase, in his
reduction of Ireland,(49) mentions this sacrilegious act, and
adds, that ‘St. Patrick’s Purgatory was discovered to be a mere
illusion, a little cell hewn out of a rock, no confines of
Purgatory or Hell’.(50) Boate, too, in his _Natural History_ (p.
44), gives some further particulars; as he states that it was on
the 13th of September, 1632, that the order of the lords justices
was carried into execution, and that the religious who had it in
charge were driven from the island, their monasteries being
demolished, and the cell itself broken open; ‘in which state’, he
adds (writing in 1660), ‘it hath lain ever since’.
“In the Antistitis Icon, or Sketch of the Life of Dr. Kirwan,
bishop of Killala, written by John Lynch; the learned archdeacon
of Tuam, and first printed in 1669,(51) we have a faithful
description of the penitential severities of this place of
pilgrimage, and of the true motives which impelled the fervent
faithful to flock thither in such numbers:—
“ ‘That he (Dr. Kirwan) might not be wanting in any species of
piety, he reverenced in his soul the custom of undertaking
pilgrimages. Nor was he satisfied with visiting such places in
Connaught as were consecrated by the sojourn of the saints, and,
above all, the rugged mountain called _Cruagh Padrick_, which he
was wont to frequent, often ascending its steep sides, a thousand
paces in height, and there staying, according to usage, on the
very summit, which is covered with large stones, and creeping on
bended knees over the rough rock fragments, which struck one with
horror, not to speak of the danger of yawning chasms and
precipices; but often, too, did he go into Ulster, to the
far-famed _Purgatory of St. Patrick_, in which the pilgrims are
wont to abstain from meat for nine days, using no food, save a
little bread, and water from the lake. During one of the nine
days, they are shut up in the dismal darkness of a cavern, and,
therein fasting, partake of nothing save a little water, to
moisten their throats when parched with thirst. At noontide and
evening, they go on bended knees over paths beaten by the feet of
saints, and strewn with sharp stones. In other quarters, they walk
barefooted over rugged ways, in the olden time frequented by holy
men, to satisfy for their transgressions. Sometimes walking and
sometimes on their knees, they advance to a considerable distance
into the sea. Thus do they spend the day, pouring out their
prayers to God, and listening to holy discourses; nor in this
sacred place is there to be seen or heard anything scurrilous or
ludicrous. When night comes on, they lie down, not to enjoy
repose, but to snatch a few moments’ sleep; their beds are of
straw, nor do they use any pillow but their garments. Thrice each
day did Francis, with the other pilgrims, punctually perform these
duties, and, in addition, he diligently applied himself to hearing
confessions and preaching sermons’.(52)
“The nuncio Rinuccini, in the report of his nunciatura, made to
the Holy See on his return to home in 1649, mentions how anxiously
he had desired to snatch from the hands of the heretics the
_far-famed Purgatory of St. Patrick_; and he adds: ‘The devotions
of this deep cave are of great antiquity, though their first
origin is uncertain. It is agreed, that the saint chose that spot
for his holy retreats; and the visions(53) with which he was there
favoured by God, were well known, and approved of by succeeding
generations. At present, the fury of the Calvinists has levelled
everything with the ground, and filled up the cave; and as thus
they destroyed every vestige of the spot, so do they seek to
cancel every trace of its memory. It seemed to me that my mission
from Rome should embrace this, too, as one of its special objects,
and I would have been, in part, content, could I have re-planted
the cross on that island. But I was not blessed with the
fulfilment of this design’.(54)
“Despite, however, all the efforts of the Puritans, it continued
to be a place of resort for pilgrims from every quarter of
Ireland; so much so, that in the second year of queen Anne, the
parliament once more enacted, ‘that, whereas the superstitions of
popery are greatly increased and upheld by the pretended sanctity
of places, especially of a place called St. Patrick’s Purgatory in
the county of Donegal, and of wells to which pilgrimages are made
by vast numbers, ... be it enacted, that all such meetings be
deemed riots and unlawful assemblies, and all sheriffs, etc., are
hereby required to be diligent in executing the laws against all
offenders’.
“In the year 1714, Dr. Hugh M’Mahon, bishop of Clogher,(55)
presented to the Sacred Congregation a Relation of the diocese
entrusted to his care, and amongst other things, he details his
own experience of the place of penitential resort which we have
been describing. He had visited it disguised as a merchant from
Dublin; for, even then, a bishop incurred great risk were he
publicly recognized; and he describes in detail each particular of
its penitential course. From his description we may conclude, that
some changes had been introduced in its ritual since the time when
Lombard and Messingham penned their commentaries. We shall give
the extract in full in a note, as it has never before been
published.(56)
“About forty years later, the Purgatory of St. Patrick was visited
by another eminent prelate of our Irish Church, Dr. Thomas De
Burgo, who, in his _Hibernia Dominicana_, has recorded his
impressions on visiting that far-famed sanctuary. ‘So great’, he
says, ‘are the penitential deeds performed there, that they
exceed, in my opinion, those of any other pilgrimage in the
universe’;(57) and he adds: ‘Non quae audivi, sed quae vidi
refero; mihi enim feliciter contigit, insulam ipsam sanctissimi
Patritii habitatione et miraculis consecratam, praeclarumque
austeritatis primorum ecclesiae saeculorum praebentem exemplar,
invisere anno 1748’.
“As regards the relations of the Holy See with this place of
devotion, we learn from the Bollandists, that, in 1497, the cave
was destroyed by order from Rome, in consequence of its being
represented to the Pope as _an occasion of shameful avarice_, by a
monk from Holland, who had visited it, attracted by its
wide-spread fame, and yet saw there none of the wonderful visions
which he had heard so often described.(58) The Ulster Annals also
commemorate this destruction, but state that it was occasioned by
its not being the true cave hallowed by St. Patrick.(59) The
proper lessons for the feast of the Purgatory of St. Patrick were
inserted in the Roman Breviary, printed at Venice in 1522, but
were expunged by order of the Holy Father, in the next edition, by
the same printer, in 1524. The nature of the devotion was
subsequently explained to the Holy See; and we are informed by
Messingham, that indulgences were attached to its penitential
exercises before the close of the sixteenth century.(60) When Dr.
M’Mahon wrote his Relatio, the term of the indulgences granted by
pope Clement X. had just expired. A little later, the cardinal
archbishop of Benevento, who was subsequently raised to the papal
chair as Benedict XIII., made the Purgatory of St. Patrick the
theme of one of his homilies to his flock; and since that time
this devotion has been ever cherished and encouraged by the
sovereign pontiffs.
“In the Annals of the Four Masters, and other ancient records,
mention of pilgrimages to this island seldom recurs. It was a mere
matter of private devotion, and did not precisely fall within the
province of history. In the sixteenth century, we learn from the
Bollandists, that it was sometimes visited by 1,500 persons at the
same time.(61) Dr. Fleming tells us how such numbers flocked to it
in 1625, that many had to return without finding room to land upon
the island. Nor since then has its celebrity decreased; and we
find that, before the famine years of 1847, this sanctuary was
annually visited by no fewer than 10,000 pilgrims.(62) At the
present day the average number of daily pilgrims, during the
_station months_, is very considerable, and the total annual
number is estimated at several thousands.
“Besides the many accounts of this Purgatory, published more as
matters of romance(63) than history, there are several valuable
treatises which deserve attention. Not only Lombard and
Messingham, in the works already alluded to, but the Bollandists
(17 March); Dr. Lanigan (vol. iv. p. 290, seqq.); Colgan, in his
_Trias Thaumaturga_ (p. 27); and Feijoo, the celebrated Spanish
critic, in his _Theatro Critico_ (tom. vii. p. 157), give several
important facts, together with many judicious remarks concerning
this venerated sanctuary of Lough Derg. The valuable notes of Dr.
Matthew Kelly to the first volume of _Cambrensis Eversus_ (pp.
138-155), throw much light on the subject. See also, a very rare
treatise, entitled, _A Brief History of St. Patrick’s Purgatory_,
written by the Rev. Cornelius Nary, parish priest of Michan’s, and
published in Dublin in 1718.”