The World Meeting of Families officially opens today.
Bells will ring this evening in Catholic cathedrals across Ireland’s 26 dioceses to mark the start of the gathering.
Pope Francis will join the event on Saturday, and will celebrate its closing mass in the Phoenix Park in Dublin on Sunday.
Preparations have been overshadowed by revelations about the church’s handling of clerical sex abuse.
Maeve Lewis from campaign group One in Four says the celebration will ring hollow for many abuse victims:
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