An Irish connection

By Deacon Tom Picciano

Contributing writer

It’s been six years since the COVID-19 shutdown.

For Bonnie Mando, who’d attended St. Francis of Assisi in Binghamton, it was the beginning of a journey in faith.

Her computer became a lifeline. She decided to contact two people each day.

“One, someone from the past. Second, a new person, and to continue with daily common prayer,” Mando said.

“With churches closed here,” she continued, “I began to tune into Pope Francis’ daily Mass, broadcast from Casa Santa Marta.”

After a couple of months, the pope’s Mass at midnight U.S. time was coming to an end. Mando’s online search brought her to another daily Mass on Shalom World TV.

She started watching faithfully at 5 a.m. The Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Church originated more than 3,100 miles away at 10 a.m. their time. That’s in Portlaoise in the Kildare and Leighlin Diocese, Ireland.

Mando got to know the pastor by name, Monsignor John Byrne. There were others she saw, too, a newly ordained priest, the first of many she wrote to at the parish.

“Letters went back and forth, then emails, and WhatsApp messages. I’d gotten together a watch group, including friends locally and others in states nearby,” Mando said. “I’d been introduced to its webcam, where livestreamed services, including funerals, became available. The parish’s vibrancy was quite apparent.”

Mando felt a part of the parish from afar after writing to the parish musicians. “They wrote back — after strategically placing my letter on the piano where I’d see it, watching from the USA.”

As the world was opening up again, Mando learned of a retreat scheduled for the summer of 2022 in Ireland with a retired priest from Portalaise.

“That trip allowed us a chance to meet musicians and penpals Louise Kavanagh and Elaine Walsh, as well as many of the parishioners and team, including Msgr. John Byrne,” Mando said.

The group from the Binghamton area returned to Ireland for two retreats in 2023. “One a retreat directed by Fr. Hugh Lagan, SMA, and a second, self-directed in the Glendalough area,” Mando said.

“That year, we spent more time visiting our new “adopted” family, the Kavanaghs, as well as our church family in Portlaoise.”

On that trip, Mando brought her sister Sheila.

“Soon after meeting Louise Kavanagh, I’d discovered that her mother, who’d died just before the pandemic began, and I shared Brennan heritage. Our Irish relatives had come to the USA from Canada, speaking French, so this connection was new and very special,” Mando added.

There was another visit to Ireland in 2024, and three retreats in Portarlington, Glendalough, and in Co Wexford. Among those who joined Mando was Sister Donald Corcoran, OSB, from Transfiguration Monastery in Windsor.

“Again, we had family experiences, including visiting several sites central to Sister Donald’s Irish ancestors’ stories,” Mando said.

Last year, Irish visitors came to Broome County to visit Transfiguration Monastery. Louise and Grace Kavanaugh arrived with their brother, Father Brian. They were welcomed by an impromptu chorus of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”

That’s where Louise Kavanaugh spoke of correspondence from the United States.

“You know we’ve got letters and Bonnie has this lovely handwriting and you know what, the envelopes and some nice decorative, lovely cards and lovely wishes,” Louise said. “The church has sort of become a universal Church that we’re aware of other people,” she said about the parish of Portlaoise.  “We know there are other people out there.”

Her brother, Father Brian, is assigned to the parish of Allen and St. Patrick’s College, also in Kildare and Allen Diocese. He reflected on how Mando connected with the people in Ireland.

“It’s such a powerful story when you think of it,” Fr. Brian said. “We don’t know exactly why she was drawn other than maybe Shalom World TV — just an amazing story.

“Bonnie somehow, for some reason, was touched by both the music, the priests,” Father added, “the reflection of the Word of God.”

“That’s the amazing thing about who we are and how we can be touched by people,” he said.

Bonnie Mando continues her Irish connection by still keeping in touch with her “family” in Portlaoise. “I received a handmade St Brigid’s cross, made of rushes, and a collection of 25 handwritten letters from a second-grade class who’ll be receiving their First Communion soon,” she said.

“Another trip, planned as a retreat experience combined with a family visit, is something we’d like to do again,” Mando concluded.