Our History

New Pilgrimages have been promised in Tanzania, Australia and the Holy Land. We will hold the first Pilgrimage at the Shrine Our Lady in Aylesford at the invitation of Bishop John Hine.

We constantly contact Marian Shrines and promulgate our Holy Fathers prayer widely throughout the World. Our mission is that all Marian Shrines will celebrate and Affirm Grandparents by Pilgrimages and special Masses. One of the aims is to ensure that The Prayer is displayed and prayed   in all Churches in Ireland.

• 2009. Presented Our Holy Fathers Prayer in Spanish in Mexico at the sixth World Family congress. Distributed 40,000 in Spanish and in English.
• 2009. Met with Bishop Barbarito, Archbishop of the Diocese of. Palm Beach
• 2009 Met with all School Principals of Palm Beach County, Popes prayer introduced into Catholic Schools Week in Florida.
• 2009 First Grandparents Pilgrimage in Palm Beach on 26th September 2009.
• 2009 First Grandparents Pilgrimage at the Shrine of our Lady of Schoenschtatt in Germany. Arranged by German Members of the Pontifical Council of The Family whom we met in Rome and in Mexico
• 2009. Successfully Submitted Proposal to the Archdiocese of Dublin to include Grandparents in their year of Evangelisation. We believe that Grandparents are the natural Evangelisers in the family and they can never retire.(They just need to be reminded.)
• 2009. Catholic grandparents Pilgrimage (registered charity) established to enable empower and affirm Grandparents in their vital role as faith transmitters in the family.
• Archbishop Michael Neary Patron.
• Apostolic blessing received from Pope John Paul II
• Led By Bishop Hine. Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark. 
• 2008 by Bishop Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia in 2008.
• 2008 Invited by Cardinal Trujillo to attend Pontifical Council for The Family Full Plenary meeting in the Vatican, 'Grandparents Witness and Testimony in The Family' Requested Prayer from our Holy Father once again.
• 2008 Bishop John Fleming led the Second National Grandparents Pilgrimage in Knock, 10,000 People attended. Father Liam Lawton Wrote a special Song for Grandparents' Let every generation' Our Holy Father composed his most beautiful universal prayer for Grandparents. Launched Grandparents Prayers in knock with a promised to share it with grandparents al over the World.
• 2008. Suggested to Pontifical council that we present the Prayer at the 6th World Family congress in Mexico. They Agreed.
• 2008 Visited the Pontifical Council. Met Cardinal Antonelli. They agreed to translate the Prayer into all major languages of the world to enable us to distribute.
• 2007 First National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock Led By Archbishop Michael Neary, Attended by 5,000 grandparents.  Designated annual event.  
• 2007 Archbishop Neary Becomes Patron of the Catholic Grandparents Association
• 2007 Apostolic Papal blessing received. We requested our Holy Father to write a universal prayer of support and encouragement for grandparents.
• 2007. First National Children's Prayer Appeal.  Children wrote prayers for their grandparents. 6 thousand prayers housed in the Knock Museum. They serve as a constant memorial to the first pilgrimage. This appeal continues. Grandparents now also writing prayers for their grandchildren. This has become an annual event.
• 2007 Introduced Grandparents Day into schools in Ireland based on the American model.
• 2007 Visited Pontifical Council for Family. Showed Children's Prayers and requested help in ensuring that our Holy Father saw our request to write a prayer for grandparents.
• 2006 Attended Lay Pastoral Assembly in Tuam. Suggested Grandparents Pilgrimage as a means of affirming grandparents and encouraging them to embrace their vocation in the transmission of the faith.
• 2003 The first Grandparents Pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in England. In a desire to honour and thank St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of Mary, Grandparents of Jesus, and all Grandparents in the world today. For all they have done for us down through the ages particularly in the transmission of the faith. The Grandparents Pilgrimage is now an annual event.