Clonmel Kickham Plaza on Sunday 29 June 2025 as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope’s celebration of Armed Forces, Police, Emergency and Rescue Services.
Standing here in this former Irish Army barracks, such a significant part of the life of this town and its surrounding hinterland for generations, I wish to welcome you all very sincerely to this Jubilee Year of Hope gathering. You have all made your little pilgrimage to Clonmel today. You are warmly welcome here.
I am delighted that this Jubilee event is being accompanied by a special dedication to honour a former chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces Lt Gen David Francis Stapleton.
Every twenty-five years, the Catholic Church celebrates a Jubilee Year. A Jubilee Year is a time for conversion and the reorientation of one’s life. Last year Pope Francis chose the theme of HOPE for this Jubilee Year of 2025. Everyone I have spoken to very much welcomed this. Today we need hope.
Our Jubilee committee in the diocese decided to mirror the many events being held in Rome – Jubilees of volunteers, of choirs, of medical and nursing staff, of carers, of priests and seminarians, of grandparents and many more, including a jubilee event for Armed Forces, Police, Emergency and Rescue Services. And so we are here today to acknowledge the huge contribution which people like you make to the building up of hope, in the sense that in your work you provide stability in society – people feel that there are others who care. Society needs men and women who are capable of putting themselves at the service of peace, justice and solidarity.
In a message from Pope Francis for the 64th International Military Pilgrimage at the Marian Shrine of Lourdes early this year he said, “Be men and women who stand tall and proud to honour your uniform, your motto and your country, but who are also aware that you are part of a single human family, a family that is divided and wounded, but which Christ came to redeem and save through the power of love, not the violence.”
Personally I take pride in seeing a person in uniform. A uniform shows a commitment to a cause greater than one’s self. We are reassured when we know that if in trouble we can contact people like you – members of our armed forces, our Gardaí, our emergency and rescue services – as people we trust. We applaud your commitment to safeguarding security and public order. Thanks to you, people are helped to respect the laws that regulate harmonious coexistence and justice. Your presence in an area helps to encourage the solidarity of the whole community. We commend those hidden daily acts of service that no one sees.
As Pope Francis said, “This is so beautiful; it is God alone who sees it. God does not forget these things”. The Lord reminds us in Matthew’s Gospel: “as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Your lives and your work call for professionalism, a sense of responsibility, and fairness, for attention to persons – many of whom are in a dangerous situation, or elderly, in trouble, vulnerable, in a crisis situation or broken in some way, where you have to exercise patience, pride in your work and availability to all. They are not easy qualities, so that it is important to be able to count on God’s help.
The spiritual dimension of the Jubilee event drives each one of us to reflect on our personal commitment in responding to the needs of others. As we praise our armed forces, Gardaí, emergency and rescue services today represented by those here present, we hope that all of us will try our best to reach out to those in need. While we thank God for the peace which we enjoy in Ireland we are mindful of the great lack of peace in war-torn areas of our world and we pray and commit ourselves to do what we can to be peace-makers. Jesus says “ Blessed are the peace-makers”. Working together, humanity can overcome challenges and build a more just and peaceful world.
I invoke upon each one of you and upon your daily work God’s help, and I entrust you to the maternal protection of Our Lady, Muire Máthair Dé.
May God bless you all – together with your families.
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