Ireland: eight Maynooth students ordained

Eight students from St Patrick's College, Maynooth, are being ordained to the priesthood in 2006. The ordinations will take place in dioceses and began on 4 June. . Monsignor Dermot Farrell, President of St Patrick's College Maynooth, said: "The ordination to the priesthood of eight students from Maynooth College is a source of joy for the staff and students of the College. "Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, preaching recently at a ceremony of ordination to the priesthood said: 'In our hearts we must live the relationship with Christ and, through him, with the Father; only then can we truly understand people, only in the light of God can the depths of man be understood. Then those who are listening to us realise that we are not speaking of ourselves or of some thing, but of the true Shepherd.'" Monsignor Farrell concluded: "We offer prayers and thanksgiving for the priests who will be ordained this year as they will bring the joy of Christ to the people of God and continue the mission of the Lord in Ireland today. These ordinations are a sign of hope to those already ministering as priests and should also serve to encourage others who may be considering the possibility of following Christ in the priesthood. As the 'harvest is rich but the labourers are few' the Church needs dedicated and spiritual priests to serve God and his people." St Patrick's College Maynooth is the National Seminary for Ireland and has been forming men for the priesthood since 1795. The seminary currently has 67 men studying for the priesthood. Recent ordinations from St Patrick's College Maynooth: nine for 2003, eight for 2004 and seven in 2005. This years's ordinands are: Patrick Burke Tuam Robert Colclough Dublin Michael Connolly Galway James Doyle Ferns Joseph McDonald Dublin Declan Mulligan Down & Connor Anthony O'Mahony Cork & Ross Padraig O'Sullivan Dublin In Ireland in 2005 there were 2,412 diocesan priests and 2,689 clerical religious order priests. Source: Irish Catholic Media Office