A marked increase in the number of men choosing to study to become a priest.
Thirty six new seminarians are to begin studies for the priesthood for Irish dioceses this year. This is the highest number in ten years and represents a threefold increase in numbers entering the seminary in the early years of the millennium.
There was a time in Ireland when the priesthood was a popular career option for young men.
Changes in society and the rise in secularism, saw vocations fall. When Monsignor Hugh Connolly, President of Maynooth College, joined the seminary in the early 1980s, there were over 60 new seminarians who joined alongside him. The number of new seminarians fell to nearly single digits in the new millennium. This year, the number of new students of theology is on the rise again. Factors leading to this increase include the downturn in the economy. Monsignor Hugh Connolly does not believe the economy is the sole explanation for the increase in numbers. The lead in time for these young men to decide to train to be priests and be months or years.
The Dublin diocese ran a recruitment campaign over the past year to attract newcomers to the priesthood. Father Pat O'Donoghue, Director of Music & Liturgy with the Dublin Diocese, says that the promotional campaign coincided with the Year of Vocations.
Over two thirds of the 36 new seminarians are expected to complete the seven years of training.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 August 2009. The reporter is Brian Finn.
