So popular was the service, in fact, that Father Paddy Mooney was unable to talk to CNN due to his busy schedule.
If you happened to be a stranger passing by St.Patrick’s Church in Glenamaddy on Wednesday, you might have been forgiven for wondering why exactly there was a line of cars forming an orderly queue as if they were picking up a meal in McDonald’s.
An informed local would have been able to tell you, of course, that the cars had gathered to avail of the novel drive-thru Ash Wednesday service, an idea formed and approved by the Glenamaddy pastoral council to allow busy parishioners to receive the traditional Ash Wednesday blessing.
VIDEO: Ash in a flash – Drive Thru initiative in Glenamaddy a big draw for locals on Ash Wednesday. This evening's @rtenews report… pic.twitter.com/VsWSQELz0w
— Pat McGrath (@patmcgrath) March 1, 2017
Given the novelty of the idea, it’s not really a huge surprise that RTÉ went along to cover the event – as can be seen in the video by RTÉ’s Pat McGrath above – but so far-reaching was it that it even merited an article on the website of major news broadcaster CNN.
The article carried pictures from the church’s Facebook page of parishioners receiving ashes on their foreheads while still seated in their cars, though despite their heavyweight status in global terms, CNN couldn’t get a word from Father Mooney, “who was unable to speak to CNN due to his busy schedule Wednesday”.
And it’s no real surprise that Father Mooney didn’t have a minute to himself; with vehicles coming through the gate from 8am until 9.30pm, sure he was flat out.
The service, according to the church’s Facebook page, was a huge success, with parishioners thanked for the wonderful atmosphere and for being “very complimentary”.
Expect churches around the country to follow suit in 2018.
Main image via Facebook/St. Patrick’s Church Glenamaddy
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