COMMUNION
Sir, - I was saddened to read that children in the Diocese of Killaloe have had no First Holy Communion ceremonies for two years. It reminded me how lucky we are in Cork, as I remembered our little First Holy Communion saint, Little Nellie of Holy God.
Little Nellie lived at a time when it was not unusual for children to have to wait until after their 12th birthday to receive Communion. But because of the insistence Little Nellie placed on the good nuns in the convent where she lay dying, she received at the age of only four.
In her lucid moments she had begun pressing the Sisters to bring her "Holy God in the morning
At that time, many people went to the convent for her blessing and to touch the "Holy Child". Indeed many miracles in her name were reported. And when Saint Pius X read about her suffering and death and deep love for Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, he exclaimed: "There, that's the sign for which,I cave been waiting.
He was Pope when the decree Quam Singulari was issued a decree by which children of seven years and under can now receive Communion. He's known as the Pope of the Blessed Sacrament. Of course the Church here has changed so much nowadays that maybe a bishop does know more about it than a Pope. - Yours, etc.,
(grandad),
Earlwood Estate,
Cork.