On Wednesday, February 20, 2013 the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins visited the Collège des Irlandais as part of his official visit to France. Accompanied by his wife Mrs Sabina Higgins and the Irish Ambassador to France, Mr Paul Kavanagh, President Higgins visited the Chapelle Saint-Patrick where he was given a tour by the Irish Chaplain, Fr Sean Maher and also heard some students sing Saint Patrick’s Breastplate. The president also met members of the Fondation Irlandaise, and staff of the Library and the Centre Culturel Irlandais.
Fr Sean Maher said, “It is a great honour to welcome President Higgins to the Chapelle Saint Patrick. It is a key role of our community to be a welcoming presence for all Irish people who pass through the door of our chapel. In welcoming the first citizen of Ireland, we are symbolically fulfilling that purpose and creating again the vital link between our Irish community here in Paris and our homeland. We have often prayed for President Higgins in this chapel and we will continue to do so and we thank him for visiting our College and entering through the doors of history by crossing the threshold of our chapel.”
Members of the Irish Chaplaincy Paris have been actively involved in supporting and attending various events associated with President Higgins’ visit to Paris. These have included his lectures at the Sorbonne and UNESCO, the Irish-French business lunch at the Cercle de l’Union de l’Interalliée, and an Irish community reception at the Irish Embassy.
You can read the full press release about President Higgins’ visit to the Collège des Irlandais on the Irish Catholic Bishops’ website
We invite you also to visit the Gallery to view pictures of the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins visit to the Collège des Irlandais.