Heard the one about a group of priests who walked into a bar...?
SEVEN Catholic priests walk into a bar – and nearly get kicked out because staff thought they were on a stag-do.
It may sound like the beginning of a really bad joke, but it really did happen over the weekend for one cheery group of seminarians.
The group were celebrating in Cardiff on Saturday after father Peter McClaren was ordained at the Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral of St David earlier that day.
They decided to head to The City Arms near the Principality Stadium to enjoy a pint or two. But once they got there there was a slight misunderstanding.
A spokesman for the priests said: “On arrival, the bartender informed us that it was policy not to grant entry to fancy dress parties or stag dos. Upon hearing this, our initial impression was that this was a joke until it became clear that this was not the case and he was in fact serious. After insisting to no avail that we were in fact students for the priesthood, two of them having recently been ordained deacons, we turned to leave.
“A gentleman, whom we assumed to be the manager, then approached us at the door and reassured us that he did accept who they claimed to be and subsequently invited us back in. By way of apology, he then very graciously provided us with a round of drinks, at which point the group decided to stay, provoking an outburst of applause from the locals casually enjoying a pint.”
But the soon-to-be-priests continued to draw attention in the famous pub.
They said: “Throughout the afternoon, the group continued to receive a warm welcome from the regulars, but their curiosity did not cease, with many approaching us and asking us questions.
“An engineer came forward to speak with the Reverend Nicholas Williams from Cardiff, only to discover that he himself had enjoyed a career as an engineer in the aerospace industry prior to beginning his studies for the priesthood.”
And then, one of the bar staff realised one of the visting priests was called Reverend James – the name of one of Brains’ most popular beers.
But the priests haven’t been deterred by their experience.
They said: “All in all, the seminarians were both entertained by the whole affair and encouraged by the positive reaction of the local community prompted by the clerical collar. We look forward to future visits to the wellknown establishment.”
The Archdiocese of Cardiff added: “We’d like to thank the City Arms for being good sports through all of this and their kind gesture to our seminarians – and please note a number of our clergy, including the Archbishop of Cardiff, frequent your bar so don’t turf any more out please!”