TikToking teens, devout pilgrims, and a strong feeling the Knock novena is in its twilight years

Conor Capplis visits the West of Ireland shrine on its biggest day of the year to find a much reduced crowd — but some signs of encouragement for the faithful 

Worshippers at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo, for this year's in-person Novena, which had been hampered by the pandemic. Picture: Hany Marzouk

Mass at Knock isn’t what it used to be. Walking into the old chapel past a teenager recording a TikTok is certainly a change of tone from the pilgrimages of the 20th century, which in some respects seem centuries ago. 

Uninterested children sit and play games on their phones and tablets, as their parents and grandparents listen to Fr Richard Gibbons on the altar.