The Catholic Church has announced that 21 men have begun studies which may lead to their ordination as priests for its 26 Irish dioceses.
The men are currently undertaking an initial Propaedeutic Programme at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Dundalk, Co Louth, the Royal English College in Valladolid, Spain, the Royal Scots College in Salamanca, Spain, and the International Seminary of Ars in France.
It brings to 74 the total number of seminarians studying for the priesthood for Irish dioceses. The Propaedeutic Programme is a distinct new stage in preparation for the Catholic priesthood which takes place at a recognised seminary and, following which, a man may apply to a seminary to continue his priestly formation for an Irish diocese.
Welcoming the new students, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, chair of the Bishops’ Council for Vocations, described as “really heartening”. He noted how over the past year the Catholic Bishops’ had promoted vocations to the diocesan priesthood “in a special way”.
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He said that “all around the country people prayed that the call to priesthood would be heard. Thanks to efforts in parishes, and via traditional media as well as on social, the vocation of priesthood was discussed in family settings, parishes and in communities.”
In this way “a positive notion was firmly planted in minds and hearts” while the example “of good priests up and down the country who walk with and lead their people to worship God, and care for their neighbours in good times and in bad, continues to inspire,” he said.
The Church’s National Diocesan Vocations Coordinator Fr Willie Purcell said the news demonstrated “that God never ceases to call men to diocesan priesthood” and that it “calls us to reflect on our own vocation story as we take our part in the renewal of the Church in our respective dioceses and parishes.”
The figure of 21 beginning such studies, announced, continues an upward trend from 10 in 2022 and 25 last year. The men concerned range in age from 22 to the 50s and are from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.
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