IN WHAT is an increasingly unusual event for any religious congregation, a final profession ceremony took place at the Redemptorist Marianella chapel in Dublin yesterday.
There, three men took their final vows making a life-long commitment to follow Christ as Redemptorists. It was the highest number to do so in the congregation for 10 years. The men, one from the finance area, one a law graduate and one a computer engineer, took their vows before Fr Michael Kelleher, provincial of the Irish Redemptorists, as well as their families and Redemptorists from around the island of Ireland.
They included Tony Rice (31) from Belfast. Educated at the Belfast Royal Academy he was a customer adviser with Abbey National before joining the Redemptorists in 2001.
Seán Duggan (29) is from Galway city where his parents run a family business in Renmore. He attended secondary school at St Joseph’s Patrician College in Galway, later graduating with a bachelor of corporate law degree from NUIG. He entered the Redemptorists in 2001.
The third man to make his final profession was Brian Nolan (30) from Limerick city. He attended secondary school at St Clement’s College, and studied at the Limerick Institute of Technology for two years, receiving a diploma in computer engineering. He worked in electronics for a year before joining the Redemptorists in 2000.
When the men have completed their theological studies at the Milltown Institute in Dublin next May they are expected to be appointed to Redemptorist communities around the island. They will be ordained to the priesthood later this year.
One of Ireland’s best-known Redemptorist priests, Fr Alec Reid, will be honoured in Oklahoma next month for his contribution to the Northern peace process. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum will present him with the 2009 Reflections of Hope Award. An annual award, it was established in 2005 as part of the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Oklahoma City bombing.
