The 2nd Annual National Grandparents Pilgrimage

On September 14, 10,000 people flocked to Knock, Ireland to honor grandparents and the role they play

A special prayer for grandparents written by Pope Benedict XVI was read for the first time on September 14 at the second annual National Grandparents Pilgrimage in Knock, Ireland.

A reported 10,000 people attended the event, more than double the 4,000 who showed up at last year's inaugural Pilgrimage, which is held to honor grandparents and the role they play in the family structure.

"I have ten grandchildren and I know the special relationship that exists between grandparents and grandchildren," Catherine Wiley, who organized the National Grandparents Pilgrimage, told The Mayo News, in County Mayo, Ireland. "Grandparents are there from the birth of the child, they are ever-present and they enjoy the trust of their grandchildren from a very young age."

It was Wiley who led the crowd in saying the new prayer.

"Listening to 10,000 people all reciting the Pope’s Prayer for Grandparents together was really powerful," she told the newspaper. "The atmosphere in Knock was incredible."

Knock Shrine is located on the grounds of Knock Parish Church in County Mayo, on Ireland's west coast. It is said that in 1879, the Blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church. Fifteen people witnessed the apparition, according to the website of Knock Shrine. More than 1.5 million people travel there annually.

The recitation and wording of the prayer remained a secret until the moment Wiley began speaking. Read the prayer here.

Pope Benedict XVI has showed an affinity for the world's grandparents. Earlier this year, he called them "a treasure that we cannot take away from new generations."

The Holy Father made his remarks at a Vatican conference in April organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family. A second conference is scheduled for April 2009, with the theme "Grandparents: Presence and Testimony in the Family."

"Grandparents have a huge role to play now in society," Wiley told another Irish newspaper, Western People. "They are key caregivers in many homes and often they are also largely responsible for passing on the faith from one generation to another. It is clear that the Vatican is interested in looking at the needs of grandparents, as they have a hugely important role to play now."