The prophecy made more than 25 years ago by the late Cardinal Tomas O Fiaich that the Irish Church would turn to mission churches for vocations was realised with the ordination by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of a Vietnamese priest to serve in the Dublin Diocese. Fr Dan An Nguyen (37), a qualified veterinary surgeon from Saigon, was unable to become a priest in Vietnam owing to restrictions imposed on recruits to the priesthood by the government.
One of a family of 12 children, his eldest brother, John, a priest in Peterborough, England, made inquiries in Dublin.
With no English, a dislike of European weather and food, Fr an Nguyen admitted that at first he struggled to adjust to Irish conditions. But he studied English, and seven years ago entered the seminary at Maynooth, where he also learned to love Gaelic football.
He was joined by his parents, Ling and Tam an Nguyen, who travelled from Saigon for his ordination, along with family members living in the US.
Fr Michael Kelly (33), from Hartstown in Dublin, left school shortly after his Junior Cert, to form a rock band with his brother and two friends. He worked in IBM in Blanchardstown, then as an orderly in the radiotherapy department in St Luke's Hospital.
After returning to study his Leaving Cert, Fr Kelly entered Maynooth in 2002. One of his first duties will be to officiate at his sister's wedding in three weeks.
Fr Richard Shannon (58) lived and worked in Dublin for most of his life. For 25 years, he was director of Simon Communities of Ireland working for homeless people, and also qualified, but never practised, as a barrister.
Fr Shannon later joined the Little Brothers of Jesus, working with the poor in Paris, London and Leeds. He also spent two years studying for a master's degree in Canon Law.
He worked in St Mary's Haddington Road church for the past three years while studying in Milltown Institute. He has five sisters, 11 nephews, and five grandnephews and nieces.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce