You might have heard of Phil Mulryne, a Manchester United footballer
who's shared the field with David Beckham and brought fame to Ireland
with 27 caps – international appearances – in his athletic career.
But now, Mulryne is setting aside his jersey to pursue the vocation of a Catholic Dominican priest.
“This for me was one of the major reasons that attracted me to the
religious life,” Mulryne said in a video interview posted by the Daily
Mail.
“To give oneself completely to God through the profession of the
evangelical councils, to take him as our example and despite our
weakness and our defects, trust in Him that he will transform us by his
grace, and thus being transformed, communicate the joy in knowing him to
everyone we meet – this for me is the ideal of Dominican life and one
of the major reasons of what attracted me to the order.”
Mulryne, a 38-year old Irishman, began his career in football as a
kid in 1994 when he attended the Manchester United youth academy, and
eventually joined the Norwich league in 1999.
His teammates were among the many of his surprised acquaintances to
find out that he gave up his global fame and £500,000 in career earnings
to pursue the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Catholic
priest.
“It was a complete shock that he felt this was his calling,” fellow footballer Paul McVeigh said, according to the Daily News.
After a series of major injuries at the end of his career in 2008,
Mulryne was faced with the future: how would he spend his
post-footballing days?
According to McVeigh, Mulryne began turning “his life around and was
doing a lot of charitable work and helping the homeless on a weekly
basis.”
The Catholic Herald reported that Bishop Noel Treanor of Down
and Connor became an influential figure during Mulryne’s conversion,
eventually inviting him to enter the seminary.
“I know for a fact that this is not something he took lightly as the
training to be ordained as a Catholic priest consists of a two-year
philosophy degree, followed by a four-year theology degree and only
after that will he finally be qualified as a priest,” McVeigh said.
In 2009, the Irish native entered the Irish Pontifical College in
Rome, where he has been pursuing the priesthood through studies in
philosophy and theology.
Last week on Oct. 30, he was ordained a deacon in Belfast by
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, and is set for priestly ordination
in 2017.