Eight students from the national seminary at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, will be ordained to the Catholic priesthood this year. Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent, reports.
Last Sunday Fr Anthony O'Mahony was ordained by the Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley at a special Mass in St James's church, Ardfield, west Cork and Fr Declan Mulligan from Louginisland, Co Down, was ordained by the Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Patrick Walsh.
The six remaining men who will be ordained in their dioceses this year are Robert Colclough, Joseph McDonald and Pádraig O'Sullivan of the Dublin archdiocese, James Doyle of Ferns diocese, Michael Connolly of Galway diocese and Patrick Burke of Tuam archdiocese.
Recent ordinations from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, were nine for 2003, eight for 2004 and seven in 2005.
Currently in Ireland there are 5,101 priests - 2,412 diocesan priests and 2,689 priest in religious congregations - while there are 67 men studying for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, now the only Catholic seminary in Ireland.
Monsignor Dermot Farrell, president at St Patrick's College, said: "The ordination to the priesthood of eight students from Maynooth College is a source of joy for the staff and students of the college.
"Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, preaching recently at a ceremony of ordination to the priesthood, said: 'In our hearts we must live the relationship with Christ and, through him, with the Father; only then can we truly understand people, only in the light of God can the depths of man be understood. Then those who are listening to us realise that we are not speaking of ourselves or of some thing, but of the true Shepherd'."
He concluded: "We offer prayers and thanksgiving for the priests who will be ordained this year as they will bring the joy of Christ to the people of God and continue the mission of the Lord in Ireland today.
"These ordinations are a sign of hope to those already ministering as priests and should also serve to encourage others who may be considering the possibility of following Christ in the priesthood.
"As the 'harvest is rich but the labourers are few', the Church needs dedicated and spiritual priests to serve God and his people".
Monsignor Farrell also asked "those who feel they have a vocation to the priesthood to respond generously to God's call".