Archbishop blesses Dundalk seminary

ARCHBISHOP Eamon Martin has officially opened and blessed the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Dundalk. The seminary, at De la Salle Terrace, currently has 16 seminarians studying for the priesthood.

The young men come from eight countries (Croatia, England, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Scotland, Spain and U.S.A.). They receive their formation in Dundalk and travel to Maynooth for their philosophical and theological studies.

At the blessing of the newly renovated first phase of the seminary Archbishop Martin said: ‘I pray God’s blessing and I give thanks for everyone who has helped in some way has made this possible. I am convinced that the Lord is with this, because already we can see it bearing fruit and I hope and pray that it will continue and that we will all be faithful to what the Lord wants of us.

‘ Today is the feast of St. Columbanus, a great Irish missionary saint, who was one of a whole body of Irish men and women who left this country and went out into Europe and brought the Gospel at a time when it was difficult and dark and alien to the faith, but with the help of God they succeeded and began a new chapter in the life of the Christian faith in Europe. We are beginning something similar for Ireland and for Europe, the New Evangelisation, under the protection of St. Columbanus, St. Patrick and, of course, Mary, the Star of the New Evangelisation’.

Fr. Maciej Zacharek, originally from Poland, who was the first seminarian to be ordained from the Dundalk seminary in 2014, attended the event.

The seminarians from Redemptoris Mater, when ordained, will be incardinated into the Archdiocese of Armagh and serve in the parishes of the Archdiocese, they will also be available, at the discretion of the Archbishop, to serve as missionaries for the New Evangelisation in other parts of Ireland and internationally.

The seminary functions largely due to donations and more details are at www.redmatarmagh.org/help-us.