Ann Marie Foley
Portlaoise is growing as a commuter town and in diversity, and the parish is something of a ‘United Nations’ of priests and religious from Brazil, China, Romania, Indonesia and India serving with PP Msgr John Byrne, PPVG and a local Deacon Eugene Keyes.
“When I came here (in 2000) I was one of five priests, all Irish,” Msgr Byrne told The Irish Catholic. Now, he is the only Irish priest but he feels very fortunate to have the other priests. “It is a microcosm of the many changes that have taken place,” he said.
Portlaoise Parish has welcomed immigrants since the earlier Direct Provision Centres were set up, including one just outside town at the Montague Hotel, to facilitate Syrian and African refugees. Now these new Irish are part of the fabric of the parish involved in the liturgy, Eucharist, altar service and choirs.
Community
There are more than 400 lay people involved in parish ministries. A different choir sings at each of the four Sunday Masses. The Legion of Mary does visitations to new houses in a town where currently several housing estates are under construction. “This morning we have a list of around 10 households that want our blessing. A priest will visit each house. So there is that active outreach with the new Portlaoise,” said Msgr Byrne.
Churches of ease outside town, Church of the Assumption, The Heath, and Holy Cross Church, Ratheniska, bring the population to around 30,000”
St Peter & St Paul’s church is always busy, as it is the only Catholic church in Portlaoise, which has a population of approximately 25,000. Churches of ease outside town, Church of the Assumption, The Heath, and Holy Cross Church, Ratheniska, bring the population to around 30,000.
Connection
In Portlaoise between 100 and 400 attend weekday Masses each morning. The virtual congregation through the webcam and Shalom World numbers more than 100,000 for Sunday Mass and half of that on week days. Every week the 24+ page full-colour Link Up newsletter includes photos of virtual congregation members who, having attended online Masses from Portlaoise, visit the parish in person from abroad.
We hope that this will translate into they, themselves finding the beauty and joy of being a member of a Catholic parish”
“It makes us aware of how small the world is and how global the church is,” said Msgr Byrne. “Just yesterday two ladies visited us from the Philippines having found us during the pandemic. We have had visitors from America, Australia, all over the world. People who come to the church that they have been (virtually) worshipping in.”
Msgr Byrne feels that the young people in the parish are the hope for the future. As part of the John Paul II Awards, they participate in the Lourdes pilgrimage, sing for the 10.30 am Sunday Mass, and do stewarding. “They are available and with us throughout the year, and we hope that this will translate into they, themselves finding the beauty and joy of being a member of a Catholic parish,” said Msgr Byrne.
Parish Shop
Mass cards are the biggest seller in the shop in the Parish Centre, which stocks everything from The Irish Catholic to prayer and other books, cards for everything from ordination to jubilees, personalised candles, statues, medals and more.
Phyllis Ging was invited to help at a sad time in her life, after her husband died, and found it so fulfilling that she stayed on. Celina Buggie is on a CE scheme and said she is now “part of the furniture”.
The shop manager Claire Scully says it was non-stop all day with the visit of the relics of St Bernadette, but it is always busy. “From now on people will want nativities (cribs) for Christmas and Mass Bouquets as gifts,” she said.
Parish Centre
The futuristic grass-roofed Parish centre is something of a hub for the town as well as the parish with meetings for everyone from HSE, Laois Partnership, grinds, camera club, Order of Malta, County Council, karate, to charities like Irish Hospice, Cuisle Centre and parish groups.
“We get a lot of support from the community and local organisations and businesses,” said Declan Kelly, Manager of the Parish Centre. “Anyone from political parties to yoga.”
He explained that the difficult days of the pandemic are finally over but it took time. “We are only back up and fully running since last September,” he said. “People were not confident enough to come back out and go to their groups, especially the elderly generation who are big supporters.”
Mr Kelly arrived when the walls were being painted. “I started in July 2005 and haven’t looked back since. Every day is different. I don’t mind getting out of bed in the morning for it. It’s rewarding, it’s interesting, it’s different, and it’s sometimes challenging, enjoyable too.”
On the day when Irish Catholic visited the church and parish centre Pupils of the Scoil Chríost Rí secondary, with its roots in traditions of the Presentation, were filling the church for their annual opening Mass, the earlier morning Massgoers were having a cuppa and chat in the parish centre before going home. Irish Hospice volunteers were holding a fundraising coffee morning, and mums were arriving for play and music for toddlers.
Parish Secretary Michelle Bartley
With 28 years working in the parish, Michelle Bartley must be one of the longest-serving members of the team. She started in the priest’s house one day a week. Now she is full-time in the Parish Centre dealing with everything from lotto tickets to paperwork for baptisms, marriages and liaising with the priests and parish teams.
“There wasn’t much traffic when I was in the priest’s house, maybe someone looking for a Mass card or wedding papers, and the priest did a lot of that. Now the role is reversed, I do a lot more of that now” she said.
Parish Council
As a member of the parish council, Michelle Bartley explained that they share ideas and plan for liturgies and other parish events.
“Sometimes we have members from different teams like the baptism team, Eucharistic team, or lay people from outside to get their feedback and to see what people are thinking about what would be best for the parish,” she added.
Welcomed from abroad
Fr Simon Jin from Shanghai, China has been in the parish for three years and said he is happy to go “wherever there is a need to serve God’s people.”
He worked in the USA for a spell and was visiting his sister, a Presentation nun, in Blanchardstown, Dublin and their house in Portlaoise, Msgr Byrne asked him to stay. He has received a friendly warm welcome in the parish.
Fr Erick Ebot , SVD, from Manggarai-Flores, Indonesia who is a Divine Word Missionary said Portlaoise is a lovely place to settle. For him, some things are different to home.
“The way we celebrate the Mass, (in Indonesia) participation is strong, everyone answers loudly. Here we have to help people a little more with the responses,” he said. “But the Mass is a sacrifice and a sacrament –that is the same everywhere in the world.”
Fr Ciprian Matei from Bucharest, Romania joined the parish in 2019. While Catholics are less than 10% of the population of Romania, the Church there is experiencing a vocations boom. In his town, there are five parishes and 100 priests have been ordained.
Fr Adriano de Oliveira is a diocesan priest of the Diocese of Divinopolis, in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He served in several parishes in Brazil before fulfilling his desire to experience ministry abroad when invited to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin by Bishop Denis Nulty.
Sr Sybil and Sr Julie
Sr Sybil and Sr Julie, parish sacristans, came all the way from Kerala in India with another colleague in 2017. A member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Immaculate Heart was working in Portlaoise, and with the invitation of Msgr Byrne, they moved into a former Presentation sisters’ house. These sisters are not as active as they used to be but celebrated 200 years in Portlaoise earlier this year.
Srs Sybil and Julie also work in the community. For example, they visit the prison.
“We have to go through those big gates,” said Sr Sybil. “They (prisoners) are good and polite, they want to know more about Jesus,” she says. They say the rosary with the prisoners and the Chaplain, a Deacon who distributes Holy Communion.
Sr Sybil who celebrates her 50th jubilee next year had no expectations of travelling half way across the world when she joined the Ursulines.
“That’s God’s plan. I only have thanksgiving, nothing else. It is God’s perfection and all his care and protection.”
She notices that in Kerala there are many more priests and religious and more opportunities for sacraments and daily Mass than in Ireland. But she finds the Irish still have a deep faith. “Ireland is the island of saints and scholars. Before, the missionaries used to go from Ireland. Now, they are coming from other places to Ireland,” she said.