St Mary’s Church, Ballyheigue: Mass times : Tue. 7.00pm; Thurs. 7.30pm; Fri. 7.00; (First-Friday , 6.30pm)
Sat. 8.00pm; Sun. 10.00am .
Address: The Presbytery, Chapel Rd., Ballyheigue,
The Parish Office opens in the Presbytery, 9.40am-1.00pm on Wednesday & Thursday mornings (closed on Holy Days of Obligation) . You can also contact the Parish office by telephone (066) 7133110, or email : ballyheigue@dioceseofkerry.ie . All bookings for Masses, Mass cards, Weddings, Baptisms etc. to go through Parish Office. Items for Newsletter (space permitting ) by Thursday at 9.30am Baptisms: Baptisms on 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month…….
About Our Lady’s Well and Grotto.
The Well is located near the village, in the townland of Dirtane, a place which is closely bound up with the social and spiritual life of the parish. The well has long been a place of pilgrimage, and the statue and grotto were installed in the 1940’s by a local group. The initiative was inspired by the gratitude of a Ballyheigue nun in Australia who said she had received her vocation there. Fr. Behan was enthusiastic in support of the improvements and celebrated mass there for the first time, on 8th September 1935.
More improvements were carried out by Fr. James Enright in the 1960’s. The site was landscaped, and paths and sunken gardens added, with religious symbolism linked to specific locations. The sunken gardens represented the Garden of Eden, and the raised flower beds represented Mount Sinai and Mount Tabor. Shelters were built and an altar of Valentia slate was provided as a gift from the people of Fr. Enright’s previous parish of Valentia Island.
Water from the well is regarded as having special properties and a cup or bowl is left there for people to drink from. The water is also used to bathe the face or hands and rub on injuries. There is no doubt that people have been affected in different ways by visits to this well, and the continuing popularity of the Pattern Day, testifies this. It is a place of meditation, consolation and thanksgiving which has brought hope and strength to people at times of crisis. Many small personal miracles have occurred there-and occasionally one that made the news. In May 2011, an 85-year old Dublin man named Jack Leonard made newspaper headlines when he found that a visit to Our Lady’s well resulted in him recovering from a respiratory illness.
The parish of Ballyheigue is served by the priests of the Naomh Bhréanainn Pastoral Area, with Fr. Brendan Walsh as Moderator
Parish Secretary: Anne Casey
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 30th September 1st october 2023
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 23th-24th September 2023
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 16th-17th September 2023
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 9th-10th September 2023
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 2nd-3rd September 2023
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time 26th-27th August 2023
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 19th-20th August 2023
Ninteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 12th-13th August 2023
The Transfiguration of The Lord 5th & 6th August 2023
Mass Times at St. Mary's Church
Saturday Vigil: 8.00pm
Sunday Mass: 10.00am
Weekdays as announced in Newsletter.
Confessions as announced in Newsletter