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Knock, home of Virgin Mary apparitions, is spiritual haven for Susan Boyle

MEGHAN SWEENEY

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, November 2, 2009, 8:12 AM

Updated Monday, November 2, 2009, 11:30 AM

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Read more: Blessed Virgin Mary, Susan Boyle, Basil Clark, Christianity, Culture and Lifestyle, Religion, Learning Disabilities, County Mayo, Britain's Got Talent, Ireland

Susan Boyle makes an annual pilgrimage to Knock, County Mayo

Father Tim column / Virgin Mary was in Ireland, Irish Catholic Church was AWOL / Click here
Story / Original sighting of Virgin Mary at Knock in 1879 was fake, says writer / Click here
Video / Apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Knock on October 11, 2009 / Click here
Story / 10,000 faithful disappointed as Virgin Mary fails to show at Knock / Click here

The Irish Catholic shrine where 10,000 people showed up on Saturday in hopes of seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary also happens to be the spiritual home of singing sensation Susan Boyle.

The Scottish star, the daughter of Irish immigrants, makes an annual pilgrimage to the Knock Shrine in County Mayo, Ireland.

Speaking from his home in Scotland soon after Boyle made her debut on "Britain's Got Talent," her local priest Father Basil Clark said he first saw the overnight sensation singing on their church's annual trip to Knock.

"BGT" judge Simon Cowell was brought to tears by Boyle’s rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," from the Broadway musical "Les Miserables," and Father Clark was not surprised.

"When I watched the judges' faces it reminded me of what I was like when I first saw Susan singing - absolutely blown away by the quality of the singing and by that fantastic voice," he said.

"Anyone who sees her for the first time behaves the same way. I have never heard her sing badly, though she might lose the words if the stress gets too much."

Boyle, whose Irish mother Bridget passed away in 2007, visits Knock every year with the annual Legion of Mary pilgrimage. Boyle is the youngest of nine children of a family of Irish immigrants. Her father Patrick was a worker in a car factory, her mother Bridget a clerk/typist.

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Knock, home of Virgin Mary apparitions, is spiritual haven for Susan Boyle

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