Four seminarians for the diocese of Meath have been elevated to the status of acolyte, in a rare development that bodes well for vocations.
Aaron Slattery from Malahide, Dublin; Barry White from Rathkenny, Co Meath; Noel Weir from Tullamore, and; Robert McGivney from Navan, were all instituted in the Ministry of Acolyte, one of the important steps leading to priestly ordination, by Bishop Michael Smith at a ceremony in Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth.
All four clerical students are now to continue their studies in Maynooth with a view to eventual ordination.
During the institution ceremony, candidates are reminded that they will have a special role in the Church's ministry, since the summit and source of the Church's life is the Eucharist, which builds up the Christian community and makes it grow.
The candidates are asked to show a sincere love for the Church and especially for the weak and the sick.
They are among eight seminarians currently in various stages of advancement towards the priesthood for the Meath diocese.
They are among eight seminarians currently in various stages of advancement towards the priesthood for the Meath diocese.
An acolyte is an aide to a deacon and can minister to the priest at the altar and act as a special minister to give Holy Communion to the faithful at Mass and to the sick.
Acolytes are also entitled to expose the Eucharist for public adoration in the absence of a priest or deacon.
While other dioceses have been completely bereft of new blood, Meath has had a trickle of new blood to its clerical ranks, such as Fr Joe Campbell and Fr Stephen Kelly who were ordained in the past two years.
Though Meath may have some new clergy, the situation is less positive in neighbouring Louth and Catholics in Dundalk have been warned that there are now just thirteen active priests in the parishes across Dundalk, Ireland’s sixth largest urban area.
And this is set to drop further through retirements, illness or deaths and parishes will have to share clergy, according to Church of the Redeemer administrator Fr Paddy Rushe.
“We expect the number to drop by three or four over the next ten years, so we will continue to do what we have been doing but share the work,” he said.
“Parishes will have no resident priest and rural parishes in particular may have to share priests because the vocations don't fill the gap left by priests retiring or dying,” said Fr Rushe.
“If you have a small parish with just one priest, and if that priest is elderly and dies, it may be that that parish will have to be administered by someone else,” he predicted.
Parishes would have to share priests and the laity will pay a greater role in day-today duties but church authorities were keen to respect the identity of the parishes, even if they shared clergy, he said.
The number of Masses would also fall because Dundalk was, Fr Rushe said, “over Massed,” with some 120 Masses in Dundalk on any given week.