'Young men and women, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord's call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. " So said Bishop Denis Brennan during the recent ordination mass of Fr Thomas Kehoe.
The ordination took place in the church of the Assumption – another church designed by the famous architect, Augustis Pugin – in the parish of Bree, Co. Wexford on Sunday 29th June.
This small rural community is about half way up the west side of the River Slaney, between Wexford and Enniscorthy.
Fr Thomas Kehoe made his vows before the bishop in a beautiful ceremony in front of his local community at 2.30 p.m on that Sunday afternoon.
Thomas (32) was a son of Tommy and Bridget Kehoe of the small village of Garrenstackle near Bree.
After completing his second-level schooling he studied agricultural science in UCD and graduated there in 1998.
He then went to the seminary at St.Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he studied philosophy and theology.
Prior to his entrance to the seminary he worked with various agricultural enterprises in Wexford and Cork. He was a very active member of Macra na Feirme.
He was joined by his parents and three sisters, as well as many of his colleagues from all over the diocese. Last year he had served as a deacon in the diocese of Ferns for some time and worked in the church of the Annunciation, Clonard, Wexford.
Over 50 priests attended the ceremony from the diocese of Ferns and Maynooth. Among the chief concelebrants were Fr. Aidan Kavanagh, PP Bree; and Denis Lennon VF, Clonard.
As the church was too small for the huge crowd, the overflow watched the ceremony on a large screen in the church grounds.
Afterwards the celebrations continued in the Ferrycarrig Hotel where a large crowd sat down to enjoy dinner, and dancing.
Fr. Tomas celebrated his Mass in the parish church in Bree on Monday evening
The other members of his class were William (Billy) O’Sullivan: Cork & Ross, John Coughlan: Elphin, Vincent Cushnahan: Down & Connor, Seán Corkery & Gerard Cremin: Cloyne, Daniel McFaul: Derry, Stephen Crossan: Dromore, and Michael Kelly, Dan an Nguyen and Richard Shannon, all from Dublin and ordained last Sunday.
Commenting on this year’s ordinations Monsignor Hugh Connolly, President of St Patrick’s College Maynooth, said: “We give thanks to God for the generosity and commitment of these eleven students who are to be ordained to the priesthood in this the year designated by the Church as the ‘Year of Vocation’. The ordination to the priesthood of eleven students from Maynooth College is a source of joy and gratitude for our entire college community.
“Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, preaching during his recent US visit at a special Mass in New York’s Yankee Stadium, Bronx, on 20 April last said, 'Young men and women, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord's call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13).”Monsignor Connolly concluded, “All of us here in the National Seminary in Maynooth wish our ordinands heartiest congratulations and prayerful best wishes for a long and fruitful ministry.”
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