The Irish Church has been facing a big clerical challenge in the past few years, with many priests retiring – rightfully – at the age of 75. This challenge is not related to the retirements, but the lack of available priests, as ordinations are not occurring at the same pace.
Recently, Ireland witnessed a positive change in the vocation world with ten seminarians announced for three different dioceses around the island. However, even with the good news of new men listening to their vocation call, the challenges and concerns regarding clergy numbers is still very real.
Due to this drought in vocation, the Irish Church is facing many changes, from parishes closing to parishes clustering. Adding to all those changes, many international priests are coming to work in the dioceses, either on a contract, or assisting while in Ireland to study.
The Irish Catholic talked to a number of dioceses about their active priests and the relation between priests close to retirement age and the number of ordinations in the past ten years, which is discrepant.
Retirements
The Diocese of Kilmore, for example, had a total of 24 retirements in the past ten years, which wouldn’t be considered too many if the diocese in the same period didn’t have only two ordinations and one incardination. To balance the dropping numbers of active clergy, the diocese is counting on the assistance of international priests.
Currently, Kilmore has a total number of 47 active priests, seven being foreign, roughly 15% of the total priests. Two of the foreign priests are Indian, four Nigerians are on loan and one Nigerian was incardinated into the diocese.
For the first time we have one priest who was parish priest of two parishes”
The Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said the international priests are “only part of the solution.” He explained some of the priests are in a contract of three years. “We do have a particular relationship with one particular group The Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria… because of the fact that their superior general worked here at one time,” and some of the older priests in the diocese worked in Nigeria for a while as well, he explained.
The other part of the solution the diocese found for the dropping numbers of active priests are partnerships between parishes. “For the first time we have one priest who is parish priest of two parishes,” the bishop explained.
Phenomena
“That’s going to become an increasing phenomena as well,” he said. Bishop Hayes said that: “in other words, there will be some parishes without a resident priest”.
“But what often happens…when a parish doesn’t have their own priest, it calls people forward and then those who are committed to parish and committed to their faith, they come forward and they find roles for themselves in ministry.”
No priest is due to retire in Kilmore for the next two years, “so, we don’t have an immediate issue,” Bishop Hayes explained. “But you can never account for the fact that people become ill, you have to allow for that as well.
Another long-term solution for the vocations challenge Bishop Hayes believes in, is encouraging the growth of the Ministry of Pastoral Care, “nurturing the faith,” visiting and ministering in schools and outside of them, “working with parents, in particular young parents, because that’s where, at the end of the day, faith is nurtured: at home.”
The priest will always remain vital and we continue to encourage young men to consider priesthood”
For the bishop, it is important to make parents aware that, if they are having difficulties with their faith, “the little faith they have can be built upon. So we need people to work with them and to encourage them.”
Those young families, with their faith nourished, would have faithful children. And some of those children could grow up and received the call to priesthood, the bishop explained. “Because while obviously we’re very involved…in nurturing the lay ministry. At the end of the day, the priest will always remain vital and we continue to encourage young men to consider priesthood.”
The Diocese of Cloyne has 60 active priests working in its 46 parishes and managing 107 churches. This number, even though higher than the number of parishes, is worrying, as the priest in many of the parishes is not ‘allowed’ to get sick as there would not be another priest to cover him.
In Cloyne, 58 of the working priests are Irish, one is Polish and one Romanian. In the last ten years, the diocese had a total of 16 retirements and only two ordinations.
Armagh
On the other side of the island, the Archdiocese of Armagh has the second highest percentage of international priests from the dioceses who provided their data to The Irish Catholic. With a total of 98 active priests, twelve are foreign, which accounts to over 12% of the active priests.
“The tradition here in Ireland has always been that we sent priests abroad. There’s always been this idea that priests travel, especially missionary priests. I think we’ve always been sort of mindful of missionary priests coming and going,” Fr Barry Matthews, Armagh Archdiocese’s Director of Vocations said.
Differently from Kilmore and Cloyne dioceses, Armagh had a higher number of ordinations (twelve) and incardinations (two) in the past ten years, compared to their 23 retired priests in the same period.
Our parishes now are more multicultural… So, many of the priests that are working in our diocese also have to be”
The international priests in Armagh today come from five different countries: Five from Nigeria, four from India, one from Zambia, one from Poland and one from Italy. Fr Matthews explains the reason for such a high number of foreign priests is inclusion, as the diocese has a big international community.
“Our parishes now are more multicultural… So, many of the priests that are working in our diocese also have to be” to minister to communities who are international. Fr Matthews explained that some communities in the diocese are Polish, African, or Indian, because of that “some of the priests that have come are coming to minister to those communities.”
Armagh foreign priests minister in both English and their own language. “If a priest is here, maybe serving the Syro Malabar community, he would be ministering to that community with the language that is more suitable.” Fr Matthews said that “a priest that might be assigned to work with the Polish community, or a certain sort of geographical community” would be able to speak that language.
In relation to the lack of vocation in Ireland, Fr Mattews said that, as “Bishop Cullinan said last year…It’s really a problem of faith. Some people have turned away from the practise of the faith, so I suppose the key for the Church is to focus on encouraging young families, particularly to encourage their children and the young of their family members to attend Mass and to be part of the faith community and then once that is strengthened, then vocation will come.”
Similarly to Bishop Hayes, Fr Matthews believe that lay engagement is the first step for more vocations. “The priests will come from families who go to Mass… Vocations will come from faith filled families… Bring more people [to the church] and then the vocations will come.”
A little more south, 26 priests are working in the Achonry Diocese. 23 of them are in parish ministry, which means all parishes have at least one priest, and only one of them is foreign, from Nigeria.
In that diocese, from 2014 to 2024, no ordination or incardinations happened and a total of four priests retired.
Having only 39 parishes, and a total of 71 churches, the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora had, in the last ten years, ten priests retiring, five ordained and five incardinated. Around 10% of the active priests in that diocese are from abroad. Of the 49 active priests, two are Indian, one is Polish, one French and one Ukrainian.
Active
With almost 9% of active priest being from abroad, the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has 45 active priests, of which three are Nigerians and one is Indian. In the past ten years, the diocese had only one ordination and 18 retirements.
Bishop Paul Connell understands that Ireland is receiving assistance from a number of international priests, and believes that is very helpful, but he doesn’t believe that bringing priests from out of the country is “a solution to the problems of the Irish Church”.
He explained that many of the international priests are students in Maynooth, and are only helping while in Ireland to study. “But we always have to be conscious of the fact…as tight as things are in Europe, there still is a very much larger ratio of people without a priest in Africa. So we can’t be taking priests from other parts of the world where there is a greater need.”
Bishop Connell said the solution was not bringing more international priests. To counter the dropping numbers in priesthood vocation, Ardagh and Clonmacnois will need “to have more cooperation between parishes.” For that to happen, the bishop explained, more lay involvement will be necessary.
“People are needed catechists, as pastoral workers, as secretaries, to do a lot of the administrative work,” the bishop said. “We’re going to have much more of that going forward because there will be a smaller number of priests in this crisis.”
Without priests, there can be no Eucharist, [and] without the Eucharist” there is no Church”
If all priests in that diocese were to retire at 75, by the year 2030 the diocese would have only 15 priests. The bishop mentioned the generosity of his priests, and how they agreed to wait a little before retiring or help in their parishes afterwards.
Currently, the diocese is working on clustering parishes, attempting to tackle the lack of priests. The necessity of grouping parishes was predicted years ago by Archbishop of Tuam Francis Duffy, when he was the bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois.
The bishop lamented that they had no seminarians in the past few years, and that is the reason priests are now having to take responsibility for multiple parishes. But even if new men start this year “it takes a long while to train seminarians.”
Bishop Connell said the diocese and community will keep praying and encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life. “Because without priests, there can be no Eucharist, [and] without the Eucharist” there is no Church.”
This lack in vocation is creating unprecedented issues in the Irish Church. St Patrick’s Parish in Belfast, for example, is operating with only one priest for the first time in 200 years.
In more positive news, Down and Connor Diocese will have six seminarians starting their studies this month, bringing the total number of seminarians for that diocese to nine.
“The rise in the numbers of seminarians discerning a vocation to the priesthood over the last number of years is very encouraging,” Fr Eddie McGee, Diocesan Communications Officer, said on behalf of the diocese.
At the moment, the diocese has 97 active priests, six being foreign in full-time positions, a bit more than 6% of all active priests. Down and Connor also has some foreign priests covering holidays, but those numbers were not provided. Five of the full-time international priests are Indian and the other one is Polish.
In the past ten years, Down and Connor had 27 retirements, one incardination and 23 ordinations, eight to priesthood and fifteen to permanent diaconate.
Challenging
“Vocations are particularly welcome during a time when it is increasingly challenging to meet the pastoral and sacramental needs within parishes across the Diocese,” Fr McGee said.
As Armagh and Kilmore dioceses, Down and Connor believes the vocation will start with faith shared at home. “It takes a faith community to support vocations. God’s call to priestly service is nourished and nurtured within the home, the parish and wider society. An increase in vocations therefore demonstrates the support and guidance offered by those who surround any individual discerning a vocation,” Fr McGee said.
Even though international priests can be found in every diocese across Ireland, they are not here to solve the vocational drought. They will help when necessary and they will minister to the growing international communities the country is embracing, but they are not the solution.
