American evangelist Franklin Graham held his first festival in Northern Ireland this past weekend, marking the largest evangelistic event in the area in nearly 50 years.An estimated 32,783 people filled The Odyssey Arena in Belfast from April 4 to 6 to hear the Gospel message of hope as presented by Franklin Graham, who is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The event was the largest of its kind since Franklin Graham’s father, Billy Graham, held a similar event in the city in 1961.
“Not long ago, people thought Belfast was a hopeless city because of The Troubles,” said Lord Mayor of Belfast, Jim Rodgers, according to BGEA. “Now is the time for the Celebration of Hope, and this visit by Franklin Graham is an opportunity to change lives.”
Citizens of Belfast 10 years ago lived under a state of reoccurring violence and bombings due to a conflict between predominantly ...
