Dublin, Ireland, Aug 6, 2025 /
13:11 pm
This week in Ireland, the Intercession for Priests ministry marks its 50th anniversary with Mass in Knock followed by a weeklong retreat at Maynooth led by Sister Briege McKenna, OSC. McKenna, who ministers to priests and bishops around the world, said the ministry is a gift from God that renews the spiritual life of priests.
The Intercession for Priests was started at All Hallows College in 1976 by the late Father Kevin Scallon, who established it following an encounter with a similar program in the United States. It was a critical time for priests, and many were deciding to leave the priesthood.
Scallon was also significantly affected by the words of an elderly Biafra woman to whom he ministered on the missions when she told him: “For me today, Father, you are Jesus.” This prompted a search for a more profound understanding of his priestly ministry. The ministry he established has, for over 50 years, provided a rock and place of security where many priests from around the world can come and feel at home in their priesthood.
For McKenna — who was born in Ireland, entered the Sisters of St. Clare at age 15, and experienced an instantaneous healing of a serious health issue at a Mass when she was 24 — the Intercession for Priests is a “gift that God blessed us with 50 years ago to renew the spiritual life of priests, to affirm them, encourage them, and challenge them to holiness.”
She told CNA: “Father Scallon was the spiritual director in All Hallows, where it started on the 16th of July, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. There were about two priests registered, but 12 came. From there, it spread. Every year it got bigger. Then we started getting the missionaries from around the world coming. Father Kevin and I went to Germany. Same with Poland. We went to over 100 countries in the five continents; it has transformed the lives of priests and bishops.”
For McKenna, the Intercession offers priests renewal, focusing directly on the priest himself.
Speaking at the Mass for the 50th National Day of Intercession for Priests at Knock, Archbishop Eamon Martin told all those gathered: “As I have gotten older, I’ve come to realize how important it is to pray for priests. It’s understandable that people are more used to asking priests to pray for them and might not realize how much we priests are ourselves in great need of prayer.”
McKenna explained that the Intercession for Priests is built around the Divine Office, the Eucharist, the sacraments, and Our Lady.
“For 50 years, we have never missed the rosary, and we have a consecration to Our Lady. It’s built on priestly spirituality. We have a renewal of ordination. We have a healing service, which means priests stand before the Eucharist. We pray with them for healing; not just physical healing but all kinds of healings. We also have the anointing of the sick for those who are ill or have any kind of sickness,” she explained.
The religious sister returned repeatedly to the ministry: “It’s very focused on the effects of the priestly ministry. And for me, it’s a great encouragement, because I speak to them during the day on healing. I speak often on the celibate call. We pray for the charism. We pray for the things to affirm them and encourage them. I try to impress on them that the priesthood is not something you do 9 to 5. It’s a vocation, and it’s a divine call. And whether you’re preaching, teaching, or having recreation, you’re always carrying the Christ, the priest.”
Father Michael Doody is a parish priest at Our Lady of Kirkstall, Leeds, England, who first encountered the Intercession for Priests in Leeds shortly after his ordination in 2013. He said it was a life-changing experience.
“There has always been a wonderful atmosphere at the retreats and an experience of fraternity with the other priests that is profoundly encouraging,” he said. “Sister Briege and Father Kevin, and now Father Pablo [Escriva], have always spoken to us very simply about the truth of who we are — that Jesus has chosen us and anointed us to bring him to the world, a world in much darkness and hungry for Jesus.”
Father Tom Surlis is the seminary rector of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and he first encountered the Intercession for Priests in 2004 as a recently-ordained priest. Since then, the annual gathering has been a staple in his “spiritual diet.”
Surlis described it as “a regular dose of medicine from the Divine Physician, who gathers his priests to spend time together and with him, and who is tangibly present in our midst to renew, restore, and revivify our identity as ministers of word and sacrament in an atmosphere that is fraternal and deeply spiritual.”
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The Intercession for Priests in Ireland is hosted at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Surlis said: “On this 50th anniversary I can only say ‘Ad multos annos’ to the Intercession and thank God for Father Kevin, Sister Briege, the Core Groups in Ireland, England, Germany, and Poland and all who make it possible for this great work to continue as a sign of hope, a vessel of love, and a deepener of faith in our time.”
Surlis pointed to the words of Father Jack Finnegan, SDB, who has been with the Intercession for Priests from the outset.
“The more the priest encounters Christ, the more he prays and meditates, the more he will come to unity in Christ. The more he grows into union with Christ, the more he will experience the disintegration of his selfish ego and put on the compassionate gentleness and understanding humility of Jesus. Such is the transformative power of the Spirit. Such is the vastness of grace,” he said.
Archbishop Martin told the congregation in Knock: “We priests tend to be caught up in a multitude of demands and distractions. In recent times, like many others, we have become vulnerable to isolation and loneliness, and sometimes to unhealthy or harmful influences that can steal away the joy of our vocation. And we priests are not the best at accepting when we need help and support or finding guides and mentors to accompany us spiritually, pastorally, intellectually, and especially in our personal human development.”
Patrick J Passmore lives on the north coast of Ireland. He has worked with St Brigid Media on a range of projects as a consultant and writer.
