I was one of six ordained the week of John Paul’s visit in ’79 (and the only one who’s still a priest!)
But life has been ‘tremendous’ for Canon Martin... who says Church will be stronger in minority role
HE was one of six priests ordained here in the week Pope John Paul visited in September 1979 – but 40 years on, Canon Martin Cosgrove is the only one still in the clergy.
Of the five others, who were ordained by the Bishop of Elphin, Dominic Conway, on September 22 1979, one has died but four others have left the Church.
Canon Cosgrove, who hopes to meet Pope Francis during his visit in August, says he is not surprised by the departure of some of his fellow seminarians.
‘I’m the only one still standing but when you think of it, it’s unsurprising that men who would have been in their mid-20s then should have taken a different direction in life 40 years on.’
He also believes that the Ireland of this Papal visit is very different to the one of 40 years ago. ‘I’m not one of those who want to hark back to the time when most people here were perceived to be practising Catholics,’ he says.
‘I think often when a religion is in a minority, it can be stronger.
‘Look at the Church of Ireland here and see the strong bond that parishioners there have with their Church. When I was first ordained, I worked in Germany and the Catholic Church was in a minority there but the Catholics who did go to Mass had a very strong faith.
‘Yes things have changed in Ireland but I don’t expect the State to underpin my faith and values.
‘It would be a very poor Church if we couldn’t survive without that.’
But the Church means very much to him. ‘For me it’s been a tremendous life, extremely rewarding and I feel immensely privileged to have been able to have helped people in their darkest hour,’ he says.
‘If I could go back 40 years, I wouldn’t change anything. Even knowing what we all know now. But of course it’s not a life for everybody. Life would be very boring if we were all the same.’ The week of Pope John Paul’s visit was one of the best of his life, says Canon Martin, who is currently the parish priest at Rathfarnham, in south county Dublin.
Together with his fellow five classmates, the young seminarian had been due to be ordained on September 29 but the event was brought forward a week so that the newly ordained priests could attend the Papal Mass.
‘I was ordained the Saturday before the Pope arrived and I remember very well the huge sense of excitement,’ he says. ‘I had prepared for years to become a priest and here was this great coincidence,’ he now recalls.
‘It was such a huge event and an extraordinary weekend. It galvanised the entire country in a unity of purpose and spirit.
‘I was at the Phoenix Park and Maynooth as well and to be in his presence was wonderful.’
Now, as a recently appointed canon, he will attend a meeting between canons and Pope Francis at the Pro Cathedral in Dublin city in August.
‘It’s marvellous to be invited and it would be wonderful to meet Pope Francis. That would be a tremendous honour,’ Canon Martin says.
‘I don’t expect the State to underpin my values’ ‘I’d change nothing even knowing what we know’