Knock National Novena Daily Workshops

What to Expect

Alongside the two big daily ceremonies of the Knock National Novena, the shrine runs a quieter parallel strand: a lunchtime workshop each day in the Knock Prayer Centre, from 12:45pm to 1:30pm. Each session picks up the theme that the day’s guest speaker will develop at the 3pm and 8pm ceremonies, but in a small-room format where people can ask questions and talk rather than sit and listen. The 45 minutes are deliberately short, so pilgrims travelling in for the afternoon ceremony can take one in beforehand.

The 2026 series runs from Thursday 13 August to Thursday 20 August. Day one is “Come Away To A Quiet Place”, led by the shrine’s Prayer Guidance Team. Friday 14 August brings “Hope House: Where Recovery Begins” with Attracta Canny and Dolores Duggan. Saturday 15 August is “CJ’s Rainbow: Never Stop Living” with Niamh McCann, and Sunday 16 August is “Who Will Show Us The Way (Ps. 4:6)” with Sandra Cullen. Monday 17 August is “Church Return To Nature” with biodiversity officer Sheila Murphy. Tuesday 18 August is “Youth Ministry in Action” with the Knock Youth Ministry Team. Wednesday 19 August is “Do Not Give Up Meeting Together! Rethinking The Meetings We Hold” with speaker David Wells, and Thursday 20 August closes the series with “A Church For Everyone: Building A Community Of Welcome”, led by Deacon Mark Paine of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Good to Know

• Daily from Thursday 13 August to Thursday 20 August 2026, 12:45pm to 1:30pm.
• Venue is the Knock Prayer Centre, inside the shrine grounds at Knock.
• One workshop per day, each tied to that day’s novena theme and speaker.
• The shrine also runs a guided tour of the grounds at 11am on most novena days, meeting at the Information Centre beside the Basilica.
• The main novena ceremonies are at 3pm and 8pm, so the workshop sits between them.
• Check knockshrine.ie for late changes to speakers or rooms.

Getting There

Knock village sits on the N17 between Claremorris and Charlestown, roughly 25 minutes from Castlebar and 35 minutes from Ballina. The shrine has large car parks on the Ballyhaunis and Claremorris approaches, and the Prayer Centre is a short walk across the grounds from the Basilica. Ireland West Airport Knock is about 20 minutes north on the same road, and Bus Eireann services running the Galway to Sligo corridor stop in the village.