O King of the Friday

Whose limbs were stretched on the Cross,

O Lord who did suffer

The bruises, the wounds, the loss,

We stretch ourselves

Beneath the shield of thy might,

Some fruit from the tree of thy pass

Fall on us this night!

                                   Ancient Irish Prayer

Mullingar Cathedral was the first in the world to be dedicated to Christ the King at the request of Pope Pius IX who instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925, in response to the growth of nationalism in Europe.