CONSTRUCTION of the new extension to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Dundalk is “making good progress”, according to the Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Archdiocese of Armagh, Fr Giuseppe Pollio.
The Redemptoris Mater Seminary on De La Salle Terrace was established in 2012 as an institution of the Archdiocese of Armagh in the Catholic Church. Its purpose is to form priests for the New Evangelisation who will serve both as diocesan and missionary clergy.
“We have been here for the past 11 years in Dundalk. There are 15 seminarians in formation. Their vocations come from the Neocatechumenal Way,” said Fr Giuseppe.
When the seminarians are ordained, they will become diocesan priests of the Archdiocese of Armagh, but they are also prepared to serve, if required, in other parts of Ireland and overseas. They are therefore both diocesan and missionary.
“Since its foundation, five priests have already been ordained, and two deacons will be ordained in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh on October 8, 2023,” he said.
“The five ordained priests are serving in Ardee, Dundalk, Newry, Lurgan and Magherafelt.
“The Redemptoris Mater Seminary has a unique mission to form priests with a strong missionary impulse.”
Fr Giuseppe added: “The goal of this formation is to form priests who can embody a missionary dynamic, whether they serve in parishes locally or undertake missions abroad.
“The men who are in formation here are formed according to the four pillars of formation indicated in the Ratio Fundamentalis Sacerdotalis: human, spiritual, academic, and pastoral.
“As part of their formation, the seminarians also attend a local neocatechumenal community composed of families, young people and older people.”
Fr Callum Young is also based at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Dundalk. He was ordained on June 29, 2021.
“As a seminarian I spent some time on mission in the Holy Land for a year and in Bahrain. Some people spend three years on mission in countries such as Mozambique, Argentina and South Africa,” said Fr Callum.
“It was helpful to see the reality of the Church across the world. It helped me a lot to be amongst these people and to speak of the love of God.
“It helps to build a relationship which is based on faith and not just cultural norms and similarities.”
