There is an international airport in the tiny village of Knock, Co. Mayo in Ireland, surely it is one of the tiniest villages in the world to have one. Why is it there? It all began on a wet evening in August 1879, when two women, Mary McLoughlin and Mary Beirne were passing the parish church and the Virgin Mary appeared to them, flanked by St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. They remained, becoming all the more illuminated and were joined by a number of hovering angles, a crowd of around fifteen people gathered in awe of the apparition. The visions lasted for two hours and were witnessed by fifteen people. The Vatican investigated the visions and verified that they were indeed authentic and the site became a recognised Marian shrine. In 1979, Pope John Paul II visited the site to celebrate the centenary of the apparitions. Mother Teresa also made a pilgrimage to Knock in 1993. The place where the apparition appeared is covered now to form a chapel and there is a modern basilica beside it to house a shrine to Our Lady. All along the main street of Knock there are outlets where you can purchase a spectacular array of religious paraphernalia. Monsignor James Horan was the driving force behind the development of an international airport at Knock. He was mocked at first but he successfully lobbied for investment and funding was proved by the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Charles J. Haughey, who performed the official opening in May 1986.