Nation moved by Biden's Knock Shrine meeting

THE PRIEST who administered the last rites to Joe Biden’s son says he was surprised when he heard the US President wished to speak with him.
Knock Shrine was President Biden’s first port of call after Air Force One touched down at Ireland West Airport Knock on Friday afternoon. It was a poignant moment for Biden, who has spoken of his Catholic faith has helped him overcome personal tragedies in his personal life.
One of those recent tragedies was in 2015 when his son Beau, a former Attorney General for Delaware and Major in the National Guard, died from brain cancer.
By pure coincidence, the priest who administered the last rites to Beau Biden in Walter Reed Military Hospital in Washington DC was Fr Frank O’Grady. Now a chaplain at Knock, he had previously served as a US military chaplain for 30 years.
When President Biden discovered this he asked to meet Fr O’Grady, shedding tears after meeting up the Sligo-born priest.
“I was very surprised when I got a phone call to say the president wanted to see me. It was a delightful ten minutes with him. I hadn’t seen him really in eight years since Beau died,” Fr O’Grady said after the meeting.
“His son Hunter was there too, so we had a real reunion,” he added
“He certainly misses his son. He has been grieving a lot, but I think the grief is kind of going down a bit. We talked a little bit about how grief can take several years.”

Mysteries
Fr O’Grady told the media that President Biden said his faith had ‘sustained him’, adding that he was ‘thrilled to be in Knock, in Ireland, and overwhelmed at the country’s beauty’.
“He certainly was very impressed with Knock. As a man of great faith, it really hit home very hard to him about his son’s passing when he comes to Knock, because we talk about mysteries of life and death in a place like Knock, all the time here.
“He is a man of great faith, and it is just a coincidence that I happened to meet him.”
The road into Knock was awash with American flags and bunting, with the blue sky and sunshine adding to the happy atmosphere.
President Joe Biden was welcomed into the Basilica of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland by Fr Richard Gibbons, PP and Rector and John Conroy, Manager of Knock Shrine.
Here, he was given the opportunity to view the much-loved Apparition Mosaic at Knock Basilica, a stunning representation of the Apparition scene as it was described by the 15 official witnesses who gave testimonies shortly after the event had taken place on August 21, 1879. The mosaic is comprised of over 1.5 million pieces of tesserae mosaic pieces in vibrant colours.

Private moment
After his visit to the Basilica, the President was accompanied by Fr Richard to make the short walk over to the Apparition Chapel, the sacred site where the Apparition took place in 1879.
This was a private moment for the President who was presented with a simple prayer candle to light, decorated with the Fleur de Lis, a symbol of Our Lady.
Fr Richard led prayer with a decade of the Rosary, and the president was then given time alone to reflect in the peace of the Apparition Chapel.