Tracking down a priest is becoming increasingly difficult in 21st century Ireland where a growing number of parishes are left without priests because of a clergy shortage.
In a bid to deal with the situation, the Catholic Church has introduced the idea of travelling priests, who journey from parish to parish, attending to the needs of the local communities.
Father Michael Collins, 29, is one of this new breed of priests. He juggles two jobs as a school counsellor and regularly commutes from his home to celebrate mass in a church about 20 kilometres away.
Presently, Ireland has 2,949 diocesan priests, not including clerical religious orders, a drop of 15 percent compared to 3,450 in 1950.
Of all the dioceses in Ireland, that of Killaloe in the south-west of the country is worst hit with five ‘priestless parishes’.
The situation is compounded by the fact that more than 50 per cent of priests are older than 60 and when they retire there will not be anywhere near the number to make up for the shortfall.
Thirty years ago, such a situation would have been unthinkable when nearly every Irish town had a parish priest and a deputy priest to cater to a community’s spiritual needs.
The first ‘priestless parish’ made its appearance in 1998 in the village of Killanena-Flagmount in County Clare.
Once the initial anger in the community had abated, a parish council took over administrative duties and the priest became chaplain celebrating two masses instead of the usual three at the weekend. On special occasions such as confirmations and first communion, ceremonies are held in conjunction with the neighbouring parish of Feakle.
“Overall, we are pleased. Our initial concern that the parish would lose its identity and people has not taken place,” a representative of the parish council, Gerard Hoey told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa. But mass attendance has slipped, he said.
A survey commissioned by the European Parliament showed only 60 per cent of Irish Catholics regularly attend mass, compared to 77 per cent six years ago.
In a country famed for exporting priests and its staunch religious tradition, this development sounds foreboding.