Prayer at west Belfast mass asks Virgin Mary to ‘put England out of the Euros’

A petition to Our Lady of Perpetual Help called for defeat for the England squad in this year's European Championships in Germany

A prayer has been offered at the Clonard Novena in west Belfast urging the Virgin Mary to intervene and ensure England do not win the Euros.

The light-hearted prayer was read out in the Clonard Monastery at the Falls Road on Thursday, on the ninth and final day of the annual Clonard Solemn Novena.

Thousands of people have attended the Novena since it began on June 19th, and have offered prayers to ‘Our Mother of Perpetual Help’, a title for the Virgin Mary associated with a famous icon displayed at a church in Rome.

During Thursday’s session, Spanish priest Father Carlos Diego Gutierrez read out a petition that prompted laughter from those attending.

“Dear Mother of Perpetual Help, put England out of the Euros,” the petition stated, before referring to the England men’s team’s last major international tournament win at the 1966 World Cup.

“We are still getting 1966, please, we would never hear the end of it.”

The petition was signed “a loving daughter with a sense of humour”.

It added “PS I have been praying to Pio as well”, in a reference to revered Catholic mystic and priest Padre Pio.

At the time of the prayer, England sat at the top of their group in the Euros, putting Gareth Southgate’s squad through to the knockout stages, where they will face Slovakia on Sunday.