O’Briensbridge man to become diocese’s youngest priest

CATHOLICS in the Killaloe Diocese have great respect and love for hard-working priests in their parishes, despite the pain and anguish caused by child clerical abuse.
That’s according to Rev Gerard Jones, who will become the youngest priest in the Killaloe Diocese next Sunday, when Bishop Kieran O’Reilly ordains him at 3pm.
He will celebrate his first Mass of Thanksgiving in St Thomas’ Church, Bridgetown, on Monday evening at 7pm.
Rev Jones said he was shocked and felt let down by the actions, and inaction in some instances, of senior clerics when dealing with allegations of child clerical sexual abuse.
Having served as a deacon in a number of parishes over the last 18 months, the 28-year-old cleric noted, however, that he was never subjected to negative personal comments as a result of the recent reports highlighting the appalling failure to adequately deal with child abuse in some dioceses.
“Procedures concerning child abuse were not properly followed in one diocese. However, this is not a fair reflection on what is happening in other dioceses. I think people can distinguish between the hard work completed by priests in their parish and those who didn’t act properly in handling child abuse cases.
“I think people could see that I wasn’t personally responsible for what had happened. No one was blaming me personally and the same was true for other priests who were not involved.
“Being a priest comes with some baggage but I can’t control this. My job is to follow Christ and serve the Church by living up to the teachings of the Gospel,” he explained.
The O’Briensbridge man has already built up a wealth of experience, having completed a stint in the parishes of Ennis, Birr and Nenagh, where he will reside as curate following his ordination.
He is full of praise for the help and support provided by Bishop O’Reilly to date.
“Bishop O’Reilly is a very friendly, approachable and down to earth man. Bishop Willie Walsh was so beloved and so unique that Bishop O’Reilly had a hard act to follow but I think he is a great people person.
“Bishop O’Reilly has been great to me. He has been like a father figure. He is very easy to talk to, yet having heard him preach, he is also a very spiritual man,” he said.
Thirty-one-year-old Ger Fitzgerald from Castleconnell is currently the youngest priest in the diocese but Rev Jones will assume this mantle on Sunday.
Acknowledging that joining the priesthood is a big decision, Rev Jones pointed out the six to seven years of training in Maynooth gives entrants plenty of time to properly examine if this is the way of life they want. Rev Jones also admitted that he didn’t go straight into a seminary after secondary school.
He was educated at Killaloe Boys National School and St Anne’s Community College. Following his Leaving Certificate, he undertook a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Limerick.
“I came to realise computer studies was not for me. Joining the priesthood went from the back to the front of my mind. When I finished my degree in May 2004, I began my studies for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in September 2004 and transferred to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome in 2007,” he recalled.
The son of Nicholas and Chrissie Jones, Ger has one brother, Nick and one sister, Marian.
Commenting on the event, Bishop O’Reilly said, “The ordination of Gerard Jones, along with the ordination of Ger Fitzgerald earlier in the summer, are great signs of hope for the people of the Diocese of Killaloe. The generosity of these young men in offering their lives for the service of God’s people is a great encouragement for people of faith.
“I invite the people of the diocese to join me in welcoming Ger Jones to the ministry of the priesthood and to pray for him as he begins his mission in the Diocese of Killaloe.”