It is a history from the bottom up, not from the top down - a reminder that all can contribute to the development of the world around them to a greater or lesser extent.
That was how former president of the European Parliament, Mr. Pat Cox described founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) in Ireland at the launch of a book ab
out his life. Fr. Michael Tierney MSC: a priest with a mission, was written by Churchtown-born author and historian, Denis Hickey, and published by MSC.
Fr. Tierney was born at Mount Bridget, Churchtown near Buttevant in 1859, and was ordained in France in 1884. From 1885, he ministered in Randwick, Australia returning to St. Albans near London in 1899 where he spent ten years.
He arrived back in Cork in 1909 where he established an MSC house at Western Road. On the site Sacred Heart College was developed as a seminary, and in June 1931 Sacred Heart Church was opened. Fr. Tierney died two days before its official opening.
“It takes people to animate projects. It needs institutions to sustain them. Fr. Michael Tierney is a powerful example of personal action allied to institutional sustainability. His life and times are wonderfully captured in this short biography by Denis Hickey, who, like his subject, hails from Churchtown in north Cork,” Mr. Cox said in his address.
“Michael Tierney through his focus and conviction made his dream possible. The MSC priests and brothers, their families, their donors and supporters since then have kept that dream alive.”
MSC Provincial, Fr. Pat Courtney said the author, who volunteered his services, takes the reader on a journey that offers a unique insight into a man whose life had such a profound influence on and significance for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Ireland and elsewhere.
Earlier in July nine priests from Missionaries of the Sacred Heart celebrated their Diamond, Golden, Ruby, and Silver Jubilees of their ordinations and between them they have devoted four hundred years to their vocations - many of them serving in the foreign missions in Africa and South America.
On that occasion the MSC Provincial, Fr. Pat Courtney said, “The mission of our founder was to make known the love of the Heart of Christ to people everywhere. We know this love ourselves as persons, and we strive to enable people to experience it in their lives situation.”
Encouraging young men to think about the MSC missionary way of life Fr. Courtney asked them, “to reflect on the calling and mission that MSC’s have received and the belief that that mission is relevant and enriching for our times and our world.”
For more information on vocations: www.mscireland.com. For the book (€10 each including postage) contact: MSC Mission Support Centre, Western Road, Cork.
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