Pope lauds hotelier for Lourdes trips

A celebrity hotelier who tours the country offering advice to struggling businesses has been honoured by the Pope for his dedication to the Catholic Church.

Francis Brennan, the flamboyant owner of the Park Hotel in Kenmare, Co Kerry, has received the Bene Merenti medal, one of the highest honours the Vatican can bestow.

The bachelor hotelier, who runs the five-star facility with his brother John, has been rewarded for assisting sick and disabled people from Kerry on an annual dio-cesan pilgrimage to Lourdes.