Published Friday, 13 January 2012
Mourners gathered in St Malachy's Church on Friday night to remember the 27-year-old who was murdered on honeymoon in Mauritius last year.
Just 12 days before her death, Michaela and her husband John were married in the same Ballymacilroy chapel where two weeks later thousands attended her funeral.
In his homily, Bishop John McAreavey said the wound inflicted by the loss of Michaela "remains deep and raw".
He said: "As we pray for Michaela, we carry in prayer those for whom her death has left a painful void - John her husband, her mum and dad, brothers and sisters-in-law, John's family and John and Michaela's circle of friends.
"We gather in sadness and with a deep sense of loss. We come before God with empty hands, aware of our need for God's healing.
"Over the past year the enormity of what happened with the death of Michaela has slowly come home to us - we struggled and continue to struggle to make sense of Michaela's untimely death."
There was an outpouring of emotion across Ireland following the news of Michaela's tragic death in January 2011.
The daughter of Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte was strangled at the Legends Hotel on the island of Mauritius, where she was staying with husband John.
Two men, Avinash Treebhowon and Sandip Moonea, are charged with her murder - they were staff at the resort where the newlyweds were staying.
Their trial will start on 22 May.
Family members have set up the Michaela Foundation in memory of the young teacher, with the aim of preserving the values she held dear in life, sport and education.
On Friday night, Bishop McAreavey continued: "We thank God for the joy of knowing and loving Michaela. We thank God for the love in her life, her love for John, for her family and for many others.
"We thank God for her faith, her prayerfulness and her trust in God. We are grateful for the encouragement and inspiration that she gave as a teacher and as a friend. We also appreciate the support and friendship of many people who have helped us over the past year.
"But, above all, we are grateful to God for the gift of Michaela herself, the gift she was and is. In the words of the psalmist, we thank God for 'the wonder of her being', for all she meant and means to those she loved and those who love her."