Three priests celebrated a total of 150 years service at a thanksgiving mass at St Patrick’s Church in Downpatrick
A packed congregation attended the thanksgiving mass in St Patrick’s Church in Downpatrick for three priests in the Down and Connor Diocese who have given 150 years in total of priestly service.
Fr John Moley has been a Catholic priest for 70 years, along with Canon John Murray, 50 years, and Fr Jim Conway, 30 years.
Down and Connor Bishop Alan Guickian sj presided at the well-attended ceremony and welcomed the parishioners, families and friends and the many who had travelled to attend this special mass.
Also attending the mass was Henry Hull, former Dean at the Down Cathedral (Church of Ireland), and Dean Henry Blair, the current Dean at the Down Cathedral offered his apologies.
Following the readings, Canon John Murray opened his comments acknowledging the fire that took place at the former Sisters of Mercy building adjacent to the church. “We watched the former Sisters of Mercy church of 150 years falling before our eyes… and we are thankful to the courage of the firefighters who saved our church from fire.
“The church was a place of 150 different years, a place of context.”
The Canon then spoke of Fr John Moley’s 70 year service in the Church. “He was ordained in 1956 and served in the Down and Connor Diocese in the Killyleagh and Kilmore Parish, and then moved on to the Drumaroad parish near Ballynahinch.
“Over those years Fr John has attended countless funerals, weddings, masses and confessions. He provided support for a school in Crossgar a chaplaincy in Belfast, and for the Our Lady and St Patrick Primary School in Downpatrick on behalf of the Down and Connor diocese.
“And Fr Jim Conway, I met him in Twinbrook at the beginning of the Millenium. He was offered an apostolate and served in West Belfast. He is very generous priest and with an excellent vision. He has never owned a house or a car.”
Canon John Murray explained that he was much involved in as an ‘Apostolate of the Why’. This shows that Fr Jim has provided spiritual leadership in the mission of discovering, understanding, and communicating the the ultimate purpose behind faith in the Church.
And Canon Murray alluded to the past 11 months where he himself suffered following an attack and he said he felt the power of the many prayers for him and the Church and thanked everyone for that.
Following the mass, Bishop McGuckian invited everyone to a reception at the St Patrick Centre for tea and sandwiches, where they could meet Fr John Moley, Canon John Murray, and Fr Jim Conway first hand and congratulate them on their long service to the Church.
