Whitefriar Street Church
- Free to visit
- Rainy days
Visitors to Dublin City can find Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in the city centre, not far from St Patrick’s Church, another of the city’s ecclesiastical sites.
Whitefriar Street Church was founded in 1279, dispossessed during the Reformation and then re-established in 1825. Since 1974, it has been under the care of the Order of Carmelites.
The house of worship has notable details including a shrine with the remains of St Valentine, which Pope Gregory XVI gifted to the church in 1836. On Feb. 14th the relics are displayed specially. Couples often light candles at St Valentine's Shrine, hoping to have their relationships blessed.
The Church is virtually unchanged since 1844 and contains stunning stained-glass windows and 16 fine statues and shrines. Notable shrines include Our Lady of Dublin which is a rare remnant of the much older former Cistercian Abbey (called St Mary's) that used to exist on Abbey St., the shrine of St Albert of Sicily provides water that is thought to have curative properties. The Rosary windows, perhaps the oldest in the Church, were crafted in the workrooms of Early's of Camden St.; one is dated 1831.
Photography is permitted between worship services.