Praying in more than 100 places of worship in Lent and Easter, 2021

The Church of Saint Mary and Saint George, Comberford, Staffordshire (Photograph: Dave Buckle, 2021)

Patrick Comerford

During the Seasons of Lent and Easter this year (2021), and in the week after Pentecost, I kept a daily prayer diary on my blog each morning, win three parts:

1, photographs of a church or place of worship that has been significant in my spiritual life;

2, the day’s Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel).

Beginning of Ash Wednesday (17 February), and continuing until this morning (29 May), this prayer diary continued for 15 weeks, with photographs from over 100 churches, chapels, cathedrals, synagogues and places of worship.

I thought it might be worthwhile to have links to each of these postings and sets of photographs as this phase of my prayer diary comes to an end today.

The chapter and choir stalls in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick … installed as Precentor four years ago on 19 February 2017 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 1: cathedrals where I have been a chapter member:

1, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (17 February)
2, Saint Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe, Co Clare (18 February)
3, Saint Brendan’s Cathedral, Clonfert, Co Galway (19 February)
4, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where I was also ordained deacon in 2000 and priest in 2021 (20 February)

Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton … one of the four churches in the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 2: churches where I have been placed or served in ministry:

5, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick (21 February)
6, Castletown Church, Co Limerick (22 February)
7, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick (23 February)
8, Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Co Kerry (24 February)
9, Saint Maelruain’s Church, Tallaght, Co Dublin, where I was a reader and my two sons baptised (25 February)
10, Whitechurch Parish Church, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin (26 February)
11, The Chapel, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, Dublin (27 February)

Saint Anne’s Church, Cappoquin, Co Waterford, was built in the 1820s on a site donated by Sir John Keane of Cappoquin House (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 3: Churches from my childhood:

12, Mount Melleray (public church), Cappoquin, Co Waterford (28 February)
13, Mount Melleray (Monastic Church), Cappoquin, Co Waterford (1 March)
14, Saint Anne’s Church, Cappoquin, Co Waterford (2 March)
15, Saint Mary’s Church, Cappoquin, Co Waterford (3 March)
16, Saint Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore, Co Waterford (4 March)
17, Saint Mary’s Church, Julianstown, Co Meath (5 March)
18, Saint Peter’s Church, Drogheda, Co Louth (6 March)

Stained glass windows and Stations of the Cross in the Franciscan chapel at Gormanston College, Co Meath (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 4: churches and chapels that have connections with my education:

19, Ballinskelligs Priory, Co Kerry (7 March)
20, The Chapel, Franciscan College, Gormanston, Co Meath (8 March)
21, Friends’ Meeting House, Tokyo (8 March)
22, The Chapel, Trinity College Dublin (10 March)
23, Kimmage Manor, Dublin (11 March)
24, The Chapel, Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co Kildare (12 March)
25, The Chapel, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (13 March)

The Chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, and the Tudor East Façade of Saint John’s Hospital facing onto Saint John Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 5: seven places that influenced and shaped my spirituality and my values:

26, The Chapel, Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (14 March)
27, Lichfield Cathedral (15 March)
28, Saint Iberius’s Church, Wexford (16 March)
29, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin (Saint Patrick’s Day, 17 March)
30, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Johannesburg (18 March)
31, Coventry Cathedral (19 March)
32, The Chapel, USPG offices, London (20 March)

Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Pugin’s ‘Irish Gem’ overlooking the River Slaney in Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 6: seven Pugin churches:

33, Saint Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford (21 March)
34, Saint Giles’s Church, Cheadle, Staffordshire (22 March)
35, Saint Peter’s College, Wexford (23 March)
36, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Co Kerry (24 March)
37, Saint Mary’s Church, Tagoat, Co Wexford (25 March)
38, Holy Cross Church, Lichfield (26 March)
39, Saint Michael’s Church, Gorey, Co Wexford (27 March)

The katholikon or main church in the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 7: seven places of pilgrimage and spiritual refreshment:

40, Saint Thomas’s Church, Dugort, Achill Island, Co Mayo (28 March)
41, Cathedral of the Presentation, Rethymnon, Crete (29 March)
42, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome (30 March)
43, Cathedral of Saint James, Santiago de Compostela (31 March)
44, Monastery of Vatopedi, Mount Athos (1 April)
45, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (Good Friday, 2 April)
46, Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai (3 April)

The panel depicting the Resurrection of Christ on the Royal or MacMahon tomb in the Franciscan Friary, Ennis, Co Clare (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 8: in Easter week, Resurrection images in seven churches

47, The Myrrh bearers, Lichfield Cathedral (4 April)
48, The Peel window, Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, Staffordshire (5 April)
49, Saint John’s Monastery, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (6 April)
50, Saint Michael’s Church, Greenhill, Lichfield (7 April)
51, Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest (8 April)
52, The Franciscan Friary, Ennis, Co Clare (9 April)
53, Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (10 April)

The Comberford Chapel in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth … the burial place of generations of the Comberford family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 9: seven family chapels and churches:

54, Saint Mary and Saint George Church, Comberford, Staffordshire (11 April)
55, The Comberford Chapel, Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth (12 April)
56, The Moat House Chapel, Lichfield Street, Tamowrth (13 April)
57, Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, Wiltshire (14 April)
58, The Comerford family chapel, Ballybur Castle, Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny (15 April)
59, Saint Mary’s Church, Callan, Co Kilkenny (16 April)
60, Waterford’s two Cathedrals (17 April)

The bimah in the Etz Hayyim Synagogue in Chania (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 10: seven synagogues:

61, Terenure Synagogue, Rathfarnham Road, Dublin (18 April)
62, Leicester Avenue Synagogue, Rathgar, Dublin (19 April)
63, Bevis Marks Synagogue, London (20 April)
64, Etz Hayyim Synagogue, Chania, Crete (21 April)
65, Pinkas Synagogue, Prague (22 April)
66, the New Synagogue, Berlin (23 April)
67, the Old Synagogue, Kraków (24 April)

The katholikon or main church of the Monastery of Vlatádon, Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 11: seven monasteries, abbeys and friaries:

68, Franciscan Friary, Askeaton, Co Limerick (25 April)
69, Saint John’s Monastery, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (26 April)
70, Saint Benedict’s Abbey, Ealing (27 April)
71, Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick (28 April)
72, Vlatádon Monastery, Thessaloniki (29 April)
73, Stavropoleos Monastery, Bucharest (Orthodox Good Friday, 30 April)
74, Monastery of Arkadi, Crete (1 May)

Christ Pantocrator in the dome of the Church of Aghios Georgios in Panormos on Easter afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 12: seven churches in Crete (Easter week in Greece):

75, the two parish churches in Tsesmes and Platanes (Orthodox Easter, 2 May)
76, Church of the Four Martyrs, Rethymnon (3 May)
77, Cathedral of the Presentation, Rethymnon (4 May)
78, The Church of the Ascension and Saint George, Panormos (5 May)
79, The two churches in Piskopianó (6 May)
80, Aghios Vasilios, Koutouloufari (7 May)
81, Saint Catherine of Sinai, Iraklion (8 May)

Peterborough Cathedral seen from the Guildhall (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 13: seven English cathedrals:

82, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London (9 May)
83, Peterborough Cathedral (10 May)
84, Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral (11 May)
85, Liverpool’s Roman Catholic Cathedral (12 May)
86, Saint Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham (Ascension Day, 13 May)
87, Saint Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham (14 May)
88, Ely Cathedral (15 May)

The Barn Chapel in the grounds of the High Leigh Conference Centre near Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 14: seven churches and chapels with links with USPG:

89, College of the Ascension, Birmingham (16 May)
90, High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire (17 May)
91, Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire (18 May)
92, Westcott House, Cambridge (19 May)
93, Royal Foundation of Saint Katharine, Limehouse, London (20 May)
94, Saint Margaret’s Church, Westminster (21 May)
95, Two retreat house chapels: Saint Columba’s House, Woking, and the Kairos Centre, Maryfield Convent, Roehampton (22 May)

Inside Great Saint Mary’s, the University Church in Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Week 15: Pentecost images in churches and six churches in the Greater Churches Network in the Church of England:

96, Pentecost images (Day of Pentecost, 23 May)
97, Bath Abbey (24 May)
98, Saint Mary the Great, Cambridge (25 May)
99, Saint Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden, Essex (26 May)
100, Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, London (27 May)
101, Saint Martin in the Bullring, Birmingham (28 May)
102, Christ Church, Spitalfields, London (29 May)

Tomorrow (30 May 2021) is Trinity Sunday, and we are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar. I plan to continue this daily prayer diary each morning in the coming weeks.

The three spires of Lichfield Cathedral seen from Erasmus Darwin’s Gardens, soaring above the backs of the houses facing onto the Cathedral Close (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)