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Carn man to become Jesuit priest
22.06.09
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent
CARNDONAGH native Cathal Doherty is set to be
ordained at the Jesuit Church in Dublin on Friday,
June 26. The 42 year old will be the only Jesuit
Priest to be ordained in Ireland this year.
Fr Doherty’s first Mass following his ordination
will take place at the Sacred Heart Church on
Monday, June 29 at 6:30pm.
“It will be some weekend,” said Doherty, who only
became a Deacon in January this year. “The
Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, will perform
the ordination and there will be, family, friends,
neighbours and around 12 foreign Jesuits I know
there.”
One of five children born to Bridie and Neil Doherty
of the Diamond in Carndonagh, Doherty left Carn at
17 and went into higher education. |
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“I always thought of
the priesthood, but I got caught up in an academic
career. Went as far as a doctorate and was
[lecturing] at UCD. I’d always wondered about the
Jesuits and when I was 30 I started to think
seriously about joining.”
Doherty has been seven years training for the
priesthood, spending time in Birmingham, Dublin and
Paris, where he has spent the last tree years.
“My training was exceptionally short for a Jesuit.
It usually takes ten years, but as I already had a
doctorate in Linguistics and Philosophy, I didn’t
have to do the undergraduate part of the study,” |
said Doherty, who
completed his final exams in Paris at the weekend.
“The academic side was a big part of the attraction
for me. The stereotypical Jesuit is someone with a
few doctorates, but we are not the only order with
an intellectual tradition, the Dominicans and
Franciscans have it too.”
The small number of vocations is a fact of life for
the church these days, according to Doherty.
“There are three or four others in training, but I
think there will be a gap of a few years before the
next ordination. Vocations are a lot fewer than they
used to be and you find that people these days tend
to join when they are over 25, whereas before they
might have joined out of school.”
Just as a priest is given a parish, so Cathal’s
destination, post ordination, is out of his own
hands.
“As a priest, you take a vow of obedience and give
up the final say. You get to say what you think your
strengths are and where you might be best placed,
but at the end of the day it’s someone else’s
decision.”
In the long term Doherty intends to do obtain a
doctorate in theology and teach the subject. “That’s
the idea, but I have to be open to anything.” |
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