It’s been a bad few years for the Catholic Church in Ireland.
An
institution that was already in decline, with fewer vocations and more
members opting to ignore Rome’s decrees, has been rocked by child abuse
scandals and terrible tales of official cover ups.
But the Lord works in mysterious ways and, in some areas at least, the
Catholic Church is thriving, with new energy thanks to the involvement
of immigrants from India, Eastern Europe and Africa.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the suburbs of Roscam and Doughiska on the eastern side of Galway city, where the Good Shepherd parish was established four years ago under the auspices of the Bishop of Galway, Dr Martin Drennan, to cater for this rapidly growing part of Galway.
A survey carried out in 2009 showed the area had a population of some
7,300 with over 70 per cent of the adults being Catholic.
And the fact
that the parish has 111 boys and girls for First Communion this year
tells its own story
Seventy-six per cent of the Massgoers in the Good Shepherd parish are
Irish.
That’s followed by Indians, Africans, Polish and other Eastern
Europeans.
The mix is obvious at a packed Sunday Mass on May Day in the
parish’s temporary accommodation at the Castlegar Sports Centre.
The
altar servers are African, one of the readings is given by an African,
the other by an Eastern European, and the church ushers and Ministers of
the Eucharist are Irish.
It is a real melting pot, with people from 33
different nationalities in the parish. There are kids everywhere and the
ceremonial dresses of the African women add a vibrant flash of colour
to proceedings.
The hall where Mass is being said – rented from the Castlegar GAA – is
spartan, with plain walls and tape markings on the floor that identify
its intended purpose as a sports hall. But the atmosphere is upbeat,
with everybody joining in the singing – the words of the hymns are
projected onto a large screen beside the altar so everybody can take
part.
Mary Okafor from Boireann Beag, is three years in the parish, having come here from Nigeria.
While Irish people celebrate Mass differently, “this is the nearest
thing to home”, she observes of the Good Shepherd Mass. She is
accompanied by a friend from another parish in the city. “I keep telling
her this is best,” says Mary.
Certainly the Good Shepherd has an energy that many places would envy.
After Mass, tea and biscuits are served in an adjoining room and many
people stay on for a chat, making Mass a real social event, which it
traditionally was in Irish parishes. The difference here is that these
Catholics come from all over the world.
“Faith brings people together; they share that common entity and they
start to get to know each other,” says Nuala Keady, who is in charge of
the rota for the Mass readings. She feels the Good Shepherd parish is
playing a valuable role establishing a community in this city suburb.
The people charged by Bishop Drennan with setting up the parish were Fr
Martin Glynn and Sr Laura Boyle.
Fr Martin, who was initially appointed
as chaplain to the area by Bishop Drennan’s predecessor, Bishop James
McLaughlin is still here.
For him, the defining aspect of this parish is
the input of so many nationalities.
“The diversity of cultures is one of the big differences; people’s
willingness to participate and their readiness to sing. For instance,
there is no choir as such, it’s congregational singing.”
Another worshipper, enjoying the post Mass cup of tea thinks that
Ireland’s newest Catholics “are a lot more religious than we are”.