Songs of Praise: Season 2023, Episode 21

2023 - 21: Christianity in County Down

Claire McCollum follows in the footsteps of Saint Patrick and joins two nuns who lead a pilgrimage dedicated to the patron saint, which even involves kayaking in and around County Down in Northern Ireland.

The pilgrimage takes in some of the area's most sacred sites, including Saul Church, known as the Cradle of Christianity for Ireland, and which was built on the site of Saint Patrick's earliest known act of Christian worship.

Claire also visits one of Ireland's most impressive examples of early gothic architecture, 12th-century Cistercian priory Grey Abbey, and hears the story of its fascinating founder, Princess Affreca, noted for the strength of her religious patronage in the very male-dominated environment of the time. She also experiences one of the jewels of the abbey, the reconstruction of its original physic garden, which offers an insight into medieval medicine and the folklore surrounding many of the herbs that have grown there for centuries.

Finally, on the banks of Strangford Lough, Claire meets a local Christian artist whose work reflects themes of faith, the beauty of God's creation and the human experience.