NOTE:  New phone number of parish office 538 2542

Revision of weekend Mass Times in Monkstown

Dear Parishioners,

As many of you will know, before Fr. Coady left the Parish in September, we as a Parish Pastoral Council had been looking at the number of Sunday Masses in our parish. This was accelerated when in the past 18 months; Fr. Coady was left on his own to cover all of the masses where up to that time he had been blessed with the tremendous support of Fr. Dowling and Canon O’Moore.

With Fr. Kevin’s arrival, he thought it best to give it time before any more change was undertaken and also to give him a chance to gauge the needs of our Parish. In the months since Fr. Kevin’s arrival, we have looked at the attendance numbers over the past couple of years and have seen that the numbers attending Mass on any given weekend rarely exceeds five hundred, spread over four masses. On some Sundays there have been as few as fifty people at some of the Masses.

Given that we have only one priest and a lack of supply priests, but more importantly the lack of need for four Masses, a review has taken place. If we were to look at numbers attending then we would have just two Masses, one on Saturday Evening and one on Sunday morning, but we the PPC and Fr. Kevin believe that would be a drastic move so we plan to introduce the following changes on the First Sunday of Lent 2019 which falls on the weekend of the 9th/10th of March 2019:

Saturday

        6pm - Vigil Mass (Folk Group)

Sunday

        10 am – Family Mass (Children’s Choir)

        11.30 am – Mass with Senior Choir

The revised Mass times have been made to accommodate the many needs of our parish while also providing different times than our neighbouring Holy Family Parish (Kill of the Grange) whose Sunday morning masses are at: 9am, 10.30am, 12pm. We would love to see three thriving Masses over Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

We appreciate that change is hard and that not all will be in favour of our decision, but unfortunately it is simply not possible to continue with the current schedule. We pray for your understanding and look forward to continuing the work of building the Christian Community here in St. Patrick’s, Monkstown.

The Parish Pastoral Council, Fr. Kevin, and Deacon Eric

 

 

Greetings from the new priest in St. Patrick’s Parish

I take this opportunity to introduce myself:

My name is Kevin Rowan, I hail from the village of Rathnew, Co. Wicklow and I am one of seven children. I was educated in the De La Salle College in Wicklow town and after working for a few years with P.M.P.A insurance I began my studies for the priesthood with the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) these studies have taken me to France, London and Zambia.  I was ordained deacon in Chipata, eastern Zambia on 17th of March 1988 and ordained priest in my home parish of Rathnew on the 14th of July 1990.

As priest I have worked in Zambia with the WaTumbuka and WaChewa tribes of Chipata diocese, indeed my first parish after ordination covered a distance from Dublin to Cork (260 K.M.) which had sixteen churches and only two priests but we were well supported by Catechists and dedicated lay people.  It was only because of ill health that I was forced to leave Zambia and got the sad news that I could not return to tropical climates.  This took me on a journey to the point that is perhaps furthest from tropical climates Nova Scotia, Eastern Canada.  I had a very enjoyable and challenging time there working with the Mic Mac First Nation people on their reserve in Millbrook, Truro, Nova Scotia. However the severe winters and the long dark days eventually led me to seek the warmer climates of Dublin, my home Diocese. Since returning I have served in Templeogue, Ashford, Rathfarnham and since September the 11th Monkstown.

Since my arrival here I have found a warm and welcoming community.  It was great to get a flavour of that warmth at my predecessor’s (Fr. Michael) farewell mass and celebration. The presence of representatives from all three Christian churches and the words of appreciation spoken by all was a sign of a community bearing witness to what binds us and celebrating what we have in common.  I hope and pray that I can continue to foster these relationships as we travel together on the path of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.

Fr. Kevin

 

Farewell to Fr Michael Coady

On Friday 14th September 2018 we gathered for a farewell Mass and farewell function as Father Michael leaves for Rathfarnham after 9 years in Monkstown. There was a large attendance at the Mass, where a number of tributes were made to him.  In the Parish Centre, a pecuniary presentation was made to help him with his travels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Patrick meets the High King

Stained Glass by Michael O'Connor at St Patrick's, Monkstown

TWICE BUILT - our church's history

St Patrick's, Monkstown, opened in 1866

A foundation stone was laid on 29th June 1861, but the church did not open for services until September 1866, and it was not fully completed at that time. What happened in between?

There is a clue in the title of a new book "Twice Built" by Tom Conlon. It tells the extraordinary story of the construction of St. Patrick's, and the people who built it.

Available from Hewetts Newsagency €11.99