Champion of the peace process and of victims of violence

Fr Gerry Reynolds, who has died in his adopted home city of Belfast aged 80, played an important role in developing the North’s peace process, supporting victims of the Troubles and building relations between the churches.

With colleagues at the Redemptorist order’s Clonard Monastery, he facilitated some of the earliest talks between John Hume of the SDLP and republican leaders, and between senior republicans and Protestant clergy.

Unusually for a Catholic priest from Munster he also won the respect of some loyalist leaders.

Fr Reynolds had no problem with going into perceived hard-line loyalist areas such as the Shankill Road. He visited the homes of Protestant victims of republican violence.

He developed a good relationship with UDA leader Ray Smallwoods, The IRA killed Smallwoods in the summer of 1994: Fr Reynolds visited the home, and led mourners in prayer – including some very senior loyalist figures.

The Disappeared

Fr Reynolds worked very closely with the families of the Disappeared. For many years, they had felt a lack of political and church support. He publicly championed their cause. They held an annual walk: he took part, and always carefully chose an appropriate reading from Scripture. He worked with families, particularly in difficult times when searches for bodies were unsuccessful.

He was also involved in work with other faith communities, Christian and non-Christian. When in Belfast on a Sunday, he would often attend a service in the church of another Christian denomination. His congregation at Clonard developed a particularly close relationship with the Fitzroy Presbyterian congregation in south Belfast.

Fr Reynolds’s Christianity included the most marginalised. He thus took part in ministry to prisoners and to the Traveller community.

His gentle and unassuming nature facilitated all those tasks. From that nature flowed his ability to turn strangers into friends. When demonstrators inspired by Ian Paisley disrupted an ecumenical event, his reaction was to pray for Paisley.

Limerick childhood

Gerard Joseph Reynolds was born in March 1935 in Mungret, near Limerick city, the second child and eldest boy of Bartholomew Reynolds and his wife, Mary (née Callaghan).

His father was a native of Mungret: his mother was from East Cork, had studied poultry science in Cork city, and come to Limerick to work for the Jesuit order.

When the future Fr Reynolds was six his father was killed in an accident. He received primary education at the local national school, while most of his secondary education was at St Munchin’s College in Limerick, with the final year being at the Redemptorist-run St Clement’s College in the city.

Immediately after school, he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, generally know as the Redemptorists. He studied for the priesthood at the Redemptorist seminary at Cluain Mhuire, near Galway. As part of his priestly training, he took an arts degree at University College, Galway (now NUI Galway).

Fr Reynolds was ordained in 1960, as a wave of change and toleration swept through the Church. In subsequent years, he worked in several fields. He was on the editorial staff of the Redemptorist Record. There he was one of those who oversaw its transformation from a mission magazine to Reality, a publication dealing with church issues of the day.

At various times he was involved in giving retreats, and was in Redemptorist communities in Limerick, Dublin and Athenry. In 1983 he moved to the Redemptorist community at Clonard Monastery, in west Belfast.

Major challenge

That monastery and that city were to become home. On arrival, he felt there was one major challenge: “How do you stop the killing?” He devoted his next 32 years to the challenge. While concentrating on that task, he maintained an extraordinarily deep spiritual life.

Given his life’s work, it was fitting that his funeral service at Clonard Monastery was an ecumenical one.

Fr Gerry Reynolds is survived by his sister Noreen, his brothers Michael and Fr Patrick, nieces and nephews.