Scottish Catholic Observer

More than 200 people young and old joined at the Glass Chapel in Carfin Lourdes Grotto on June 10, where they prayed the Rosary and remembered Joseph Wilson, a Motherwell teenager who passed away suddenly in 2011, aged 17.

An online community on Facebook, Joe’s Faith, has had a steadily growing following in recent weeks, which shares extracts from the diaries Joe kept, where he often recorded profound and inspiring thoughts rooted in his deep Catholic Faith.

Joe’s Devotion

The first prayer event, Joe’s Devotion, took place on June 10, and was held for those inspired or touched by his words, offering them the opportunity to pray.

Amid what was a ‘prayerful and warm’ atmosphere, the hundreds present prayed the Rosary, with different quotes from Joe’s words read out between the decades, followed by Joe’s devotional prayer, a short reflection, before processing to the Joe’s plaque next to the Grotto’s Marian shrine, where the ‘Hail Holy Queen’ was prayed.

Among those present were Joe’s parents, Alan and Veronica, his sister, Angela, and a number of other friends and family members.

Teachers’ tributes

In attendance were several of Joe’s teachers from both his time at Our Lady and St Francis Primary School in Carfin and Taylor High School in New Stevenston.

“I wanted to come tonight first and foremost to pray to Joe Wilson,” said Joe’s high school headteacher, Gerry McCormick.

“I knew Joe personally; he was the most extraordinary young man I met at that stage in his development at school, in nearly 43 years of service.

Others shared their own experiences and encounters with Joe at the event, which was videoed by Sancta Familia Media.

The next prayer event is provisionally scheduled to be held on August 19. For more information on Joe’s life, visit: www.joesfaith.com.