BLACKBURN and Burnley will hosting a Catholic church bell which has been blessed by the Pope as part of a year-long tour of Europe.

Organisers said a quarter of a million Irish pilgrims had rung the bell since the start of its pilgrimage last March and the tour is being likened by the church to the Olympic Torch relay.

The bell has been taken to parishes, schools, nursing homes and hospitals throughout Ireland to raise awareness about the Eucharistic congress and to call people to attend the event.

According to tradition, St Patrick left a bell in every church he consecrated as a way to call people to the Eucharist, congress organisers said.

Last month the bell was taken to Rome and the Vatican and is on its way back to Dublin ahead of the International Eucharistic Congress in June.

On Tuesday, May 22, the small bell will be rung at St Alban’s Church in Lark Hill, Blackburn, before being taken to St Mary’s Church in Todmorden Road, Burn-ley the following day.

Father Kevin Doran, secretary general of the congress, said: “The bell has traditionally been associated with the invitation to the community to gather.

“For many of us here in Ireland, there are strong family and indeed sporting links with the Manchester and Lancashire region of England.

“For that reason alone, it is especially appropriate that the invitation should go out to people in this region to join us for the congress.”