{"id":232935,"date":"2025-12-14T20:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T20:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/232935\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T20:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T20:38:11","slug":"former-engineer-is-looking-forward-to-his-first-christmas-as-a-priest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/232935\/","title":{"rendered":"Former engineer is looking forward to his first Christmas as a priest"},"content":{"rendered":"

As families look ahead to Christmas reunions, late nights out, and a visit from Santa Claus, this Christmas will be very different for one Waterford priest.<\/p>\n

Fr Stuart McGovern was ordained for the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore on November 23, just four weeks from one of the busiest times in the liturgical calendar.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old will spend Christmas in the parish of Tramore and Carbally not far from Waterford City before moving to his first appointment as a curate in Lismore in the new year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very exciting to have my first Christmas as a priest and it is a great time of hope. That has been a big part of it for me \u2014 hope,\u201d Fr McGovern told the Irish Examiner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was to say what probably inspired me most in my life was that I have a cousin, Fr Martin McGowan, who is a missionary priest in Zambia and I spent time with him and I saw the work he was doing and the hope he was bringing to people and I experienced the Church at work in a phenomenal way over in Zambia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FrFr Stuart McGovern with members of his family including his mum, Yvonne, and three siblings during his ordination late last month. Picture: John Power<\/p>\n

Prior to his decision to enter the priesthood, Stuart lived in Wicklow and worked in the telecommunications industry with Ericsson as a mechanical engineer, having studied in Trinity College.<\/p>\n

He spent time in Australia and travelled through Europe and the US, as well as Africa, before running his own home maintenance business for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n

He describes experiencing a call to religious life which strengthened as the years went by as he sought a peace which he felt was eluding him.<\/p>\n

He recalls always having a strong faith as a child but he describes the death of his dad, when Stuart was just 15, as a turning point in his life.<\/p>\n

\"Newly-ordainedNewly-ordained priest Fr Stuart McGovern with his mother Yvonne at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City. Picture: John Power<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter he died, the following years, I lost a bit of trust \u2014 I didn\u2019t really believe that God had my best interests in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he \u201calways had an unsettling feeling and I longed for the peace I had known\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n I had lost that deeper peace and joy that I had known when I was younger and was practicing my faith. That always bothered me and I was probably in my late 20s when I got to a point where I felt there was something more.\n <\/p>\n

He had a long-term girlfriend and was working with Ericsson but felt \u201ca deep desire for more than what the world had to offer\u201d.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cI struggled for a long time with it and there wasn\u2019t just a moment where I dropped everything because I resisted. Following Jesus Christ is a more difficult journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says his journey has given him meaning and purpose that he didn\u2019t feel \u201cwhen I was just living for myself\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI spent long enough before wondering but, once I made my mind up, I never really had too many doubts after that. This was where I was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan celebrated the ordination of Fr Stuart McGovern at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City in November. Picture: John Power<\/p>\n

He spent two years in St Patrick\u2019s College in Maynooth where he undertook philosophical studies.<\/p>\n

He followed up with three years of theological studies in Rome before being ordained a deacon for the Waterford and Lismore diocese in April.<\/p>\n

He returned from Rome to Ireland in June and has since been ministering in the Ballybricken and St John\u2019s parishes in Waterford.<\/p>\n

His move to Waterford came about after meeting with the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, during a trip to Medjugorje in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was trying to decide at the time which diocese to apply to and was impressed by events happening in the Waterford and Lismore diocese, leading to him applying to be a priest in the diocese.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed to be a good fit and it felt right for me,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

\"MoreMore than 60 clergy joined Alphonsus Cullinan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, who celebrated the ordination of\u00a0Fr Stuart McGovern\u00a0\u2014 marking what the diocese called ‘a significant moment in the life of the local Church’. Picture: John Power<\/p>\n

During the weekend of his ordination, more than 20 men from across the country visited St Patrick\u2019s College for its \u2018Come and See\u2019 discernment weekend, hosted by the Council for Vocations of the Irish Bishops\u2019 Conference and supported by the Knights of Saint Columbanus.<\/p>\n

His ordination also took place just days ahead of the launch of a new book edited by Bishop Cullinan, Priesthood in Ireland Today.<\/p>\n

Bishop Cullinan led Fr Stuart\u2019s ordination in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on how things have changed even in the short few years since he began his training to be a priest in 2019, he says: \u201cThe tide is turning a little bit \u2014 certainly when I was in Maynooth, the numbers were very low but at the moment there are well over 30 there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is definitely a searching for something more going on and people are really starting to realise that depending on the world and everything in the world does not fulfil the deep yearning in us for the spiritual life \u2014and it doesn\u2019t give too much hope either. People are looking for something more substantial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AlphonsusAlphonsus Cullinan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore with Fr Stuart McGovern after his ordination. Picture: John Power<\/p>\n

Proud family and friends, including his mother and three siblings, were joined by more than 60 clergy marking what the diocese called \u201ca significant moment in the life of the local Church\u201d.<\/p>\n

In his sermon, Bishop Cullinan said: \u201cThis is the day the Lord has made \u2014 a day of joy for Stuart\u2019s family, his parents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and also his wider family: The people of this diocese of Waterford and Lismore, whom he will now serve.<\/p>\n

\n Stuart is a believer. He trusts God. He is willing to commit his life to Jesus in the priesthood \u2014 and that takes courage.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, Bishop Cullinan said that an occasion such as Fr Stuart\u2019s ordination brings hope to the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

He described the ordination as a joyful and hopeful moment for the diocese, of Waterford and Lismore and a strong sign of ongoing vocations within the Church in Ireland today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As families look ahead to Christmas reunions, late nights out, and a visit from Santa Claus, this Christmas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,2512,16838,18,1652,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,124115,124114,5874,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-232935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-catholic-church","11":"tag-christmas","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-family","14":"tag-featured-news","15":"tag-featurednews","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-place-tramore","25":"tag-place-waterford","26":"tag-religion","27":"tag-top-stories","28":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115719852163755794","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}