March for Jesus Belfast 2025: Pastor John Aherne from All Nations Church opens up on reasons for cancelling event
The pastor behind the massive 'March for Jesus' which was due to attract thousands from across the island to Belfast on Saturday has taken full responsibility for cancelling the event at short notice.
The March for Jesus had been organised by All Nations Church in Belfast and had been approved by the Parades Commission for up to 10,000 participants and 10,000 spectators.
The parade was due to begin at Custom House Square and end at Donegall Square North on June 7.
According to the March for Jesus website, it is “an extravagant worship celebration for Jesus in full public view”.
In 1989 it held marches in 45 cities across the British Isles with more than 6,000 Catholics and Protestants marching together in Belfast.
However, organiser pastor John Ahern has revealed that he had cancelled the parade due to logistical and safety concerns.
Mr Ahern is from Kerry but pastors All Nations church in Dublin and preaches in Belfast regularly.
Speaking to the News Letter, he blamed nobody else but himself.
"I feel terrible because I know hundreds of churches were coming from both north and south, from many different traditions,” he said.
"We did get advice, but there were clearly some blank spots where we weren't as prepared as we had thought.
“So really, we ran out of time when we discovered there were some glaring omissions in what we were bringing to authorities.
“Actually, a lot of this was down to naivety on my part.”
He was behind the March for Jesus in Dublin in October which he believes attracted some 12,000 people, but said regulatory requirements were noticeably greater in Belfast.
He did not realise until too late the requirements for booking Custom House Square for the start of the parade - it was already booked. He was also not aware until late in the day that Translink had to be notified and that it was necessary to book the cobbled area in front of City Hall.
His focus, he says, had been securing buy in from church leaders across Northern Ireland.
Church buses had been booked to come from as far away as Kerry and Cork, he says.
"We would like to try and reschedule, hopefully by before the end of the summer but obviously, being more mindful of the complexities.”
He is keen to exonerate the PSNI completely.
"It's unfortunate that some people are blaming the PSNI when they were just doing their job. They didn't cancel the parade. I did, for safety reasons."
He hopes a reorganised parade will be "a lovely healing moment where churches from north and south can express friendship and pray for the peace of this island. There's obviously two flags and two traditions, but there's only one Saviour.”
A PSNI spokesman said they worked alongside partners including Belfast City Council and Department for Communities to support organisers with the safe delivery of their event. “Any cancellation of this event was not a decision made by police”.
Belfast City Council spokesperson raised safety concerns regarding use of the cobbled area in front of City Hall. It engaged with event organisers as normal to ensure plans were in place to deliver the event safety, it said.