Here to say sorry..

Pope used mass for 150,000 to apologise to clerical abuse survivors | Grew fond of what he called 'the Green Country' after Irish sabbatical

- BY CIARA O'LOUGHLIN

IN AUGUST 2018, Pope Francis became the second pope in the Church's history to set foot on Irish soil.

While it was his first official visit as the Pope, he spent a short sabbatical in Dublin in 1980.

Fr Jorge Bergoglio, then a little-known Jesuit priest from Argentina, was sent to the Jesuit community at Milltown Institute in Dublin. The experience was to inform his work back in Argentina and improve his English, as he would later become the leader of the Jesuits.

While it was only for a few months, Pope Francis had a fondness for Ireland and affectionately called it "the green country".

His official Papal visit in 2018 will always be etched in Irish history, but it became especially memorable as he asked for forgiveness from victims of clerical sexual abuse.

Speaking to around 150,000 people at an open-air Mass in the Phoenix Park, the pontiff said the church hierarchy had been guilty of cover-ups and failing to show compassion.