Inside the Ards Friary

I seemed to have arrived just in time at the Ards Friary. I was here to start my exploration of this part of county Donegal. When I saw the church here at the friary, I decided to pay a visit. When I entered, I was surprised to see that there was Holy Mass being celebrated there. I thought I was lucky be able participate here. The church was not full but the main mass participants were all priests sitting in the pews in front. I wasn’t sure if this was a regular thing or if this was just a special event that they were celebrating. I wasn’t aware of any special day for so many priests to be saying mass.

There were a handful of non-clergy at the time, including me. I recognized one of the priests there as the one who serves our parish. He doesn’t know me. My understanding is that Capuchin Franciscans manage this place. I don’t know if the priests were even Franciscans. Anyway, after the celebration of Holy Mass, I finally got a chance to take photos of the place. The church was surprisingly modern in design. The windows were all beautiful stained glass windows. It was bright enough to highlight the windows here. The center of the church is, of course, the altar. I can’t help but feel a little chilly in here. It was already summer and they don’t have the heating on. This is quite normal here but I’m still not used to it.

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