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Come here, there's more....Irish priest's 'confession bus' goes on tour

The double-decker 'Mercy Bus' being used by the Diocese of Salford in north England
The double-decker 'Mercy Bus' being used by the Diocese of Salford in north England

AN IRISH priest is touring across the north of England during Lent in a double-decker 'confession bus' blessed by the Pope.

Fr Frankie Mulgrew (38), the son of Co Tyrone-born comedian Jimmy Cricket, originally followed in his father's footsteps as a stand-up comic.

But he decided to abandon a career in showbusiness to study for seven years for the priesthood and was ordained in July 2013.

Fr Mulgrew has now launched the Mercy Bus, which acts as a mobile confession box as it travels across his Salford diocese in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

The bus began its tour earlier this month and will visit a new location every Saturday until Easter, including town centres, homeless centres, housing estates and a prison.

And it travels with papal approval: before setting off on the unusual venture, Fr Mulgrew visited Rome where Pope Francis praised the idea and blessed pictures of the bus.

Fr Mulgrew described the reaction so far as "brilliant", with around 400 people visiting the bus during its first two stops at Bolton town centre and Salford shopping centre.

And he told The Irish News he would love to bring the Mercy Bus across the Irish Sea if there was enough interest.

"We just don't know where roads may lead. If there was a request from priests in Northern Ireland for it to come across then who knows," he said.

"The whole idea is that we are going out to people, we're not waiting for them to come to us.

"We're trying to give more mercy, more joy and more peace to people's lives. We're going out there to show where this mercy is available.

"As the great saint of Ireland St Patrick himself said, mercy is for everyone."

The bus, which is emblazoned with a huge picture of Pope Francis, gives people the chance to go to confessions, receive a blessing or simply chat to a priest.

Visitors can also meet young volunteers, listen to live music and take home Miraculous Medals blessed by the Pope.

"There are people coming on the bus who have never had a blessing in their lives, so it's great to see," Fr Mulgrew said.

"There was a young man who came on the bus and received a blessing and he was just profoundly moved by it. We're getting a lot of positive feedback."

The idea of the double-decker bus came after Pope Francis urged people to make a special effort in their faith during the Church's Year of Mercy.

It was inspired by the Pope who, when a cardinal in Argentina, travelled to the poorest areas of his diocese to celebrate open-air Masses.

The bus is not the first time that Fr Mulgrew, who was born in Rochdale but considers himself Irish, has found an unusual method of sharing his faith.

In 2013 he released a book called 'Does God LOL?', a collection of anecdotes about humor in Christianity.

:: Visit salforddiocese.net for more information on the Mercy Bus