Nine Masses to be said for busy Cork priest over Christmas

AS Christmas approaches and people focus more on the festivities, one Gaeltacht Mhúscraí-based priest is in the midst of celebrating nine Masses up to Christmas Day.

Fr Seán Mac Cárthaigh is the parish priest in Baile Mhúirne/Cúil Aodha and Cill na Martra/Réidh na nDoirí in the Gaeltacht and administrator for Clondrohid/Carriganima parish.

Speaking to The Echo this week, Fr Mac Cárthaigh said that his unusually high number of Masses over a short period was mainly due to the fact that Christmas Day was falling on a Monday this year, and he also acknowledged the lack of clergy as a backdrop to the situation.

Fr Mac Cárthaigh said that he and other priests around the Diocese of Cloyne had been granted permission by Bishop William Crean to discuss with their parish pastoral councils how best to allocate Christmas Masses to churches within each parish.

“I discussed it with the Cill na Martra Pastoral Council and they understand the situation so, this year, for the first time, there will be no Mass on Christmas morning in Cill na Martra, it will be in Réidh na nDoirí [which is in the same parish] instead,” he said.

“There will be a vigil Mass in Cill na Martra on Christmas Eve — and that is a change.”

Fr Mac Cárthaigh said he would be celebrating a Mass on Christmas morning, two vigil Masses, one in Baile Mhúirne and the other in Cill na Martra on Christmas Eve, two Masses on Sunday morning (Christmas Eve), two ‘midnight Masses’, and two Masses on Christmas Day.

He said there would be similarly high concentration of Masses on January 6 (the Epiphany), as it falls on a Saturday.

“I feel the pressure — it’s manageable, and the fact that they’re so close together is the problem this year,” he said.

“It wouldn’t be as condensed when the days are separated out.”

Diocese of Cloyne secretary Fr Jim Moore said people should consult their local parochial newsletter to find out arrangements in their own communities. “There will be a Christmas Day Mass in every parish, but not every church,” he said.

He said the issue regarding the number of clergy in the diocese was not a particular concern at present, though he acknowledged that it was part of an ongoing conversation.

He said he had been pleasantly surprised to find out that there were more than 60 people studying for the priesthood in Ireland at present, a number which combines candidates from different dioceses and various orders.

In the Diocese of Cork and Ross, Fr Tom Hayes said most parishes would have a similar programme of Masses to last year.