'A time of great hope': Former engineer is looking forward to his first Christmas as a priest
Fr Stuart McGovern during his ordination at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City which was celebrated by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan on November 23, the feast of Christ the King. Picture: John Power
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.
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.
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.
“It 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 — hope,” Fr McGovern told the .
“If 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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
“After he died, the following years, I lost a bit of trust — I didn’t really believe that God had my best interests in mind.”
But he “always had an unsettling feeling and I longed for the peace I had known”.
He had a long-term girlfriend and was working with Ericsson but felt “a deep desire for more than what the world had to offer”.
He continued: “I struggled for a long time with it and there wasn’t just a moment where I dropped everything because I resisted. Following Jesus Christ is a more difficult journey.”
He says his journey has given him meaning and purpose that he didn’t feel “when I was just living for myself”.
He added: “I 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.”
He spent two years in St Patrick’s College in Maynooth where he undertook philosophical studies.
He followed up with three years of theological studies in Rome before being ordained a deacon for the Waterford and Lismore diocese in April.
He returned from Rome to Ireland in June and has since been ministering in the Ballybricken and St John’s parishes in Waterford.
His move to Waterford came about after meeting with the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, during a trip to Medjugorje in 2019.
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.
“It seemed to be a good fit and it felt right for me,” he recalls.
During the weekend of his ordination, more than 20 men from across the country visited St Patrick’s College for its ‘Come and See’ discernment weekend, hosted by the Council for Vocations of the Irish Bishops’ Conference and supported by the Knights of Saint Columbanus.
His ordination also took place just days ahead of the launch of a new book edited by Bishop Cullinan, .
Bishop Cullinan led Fr Stuart’s ordination in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford City.
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: “The tide is turning a little bit — certainly when I was in Maynooth, the numbers were very low but at the moment there are well over 30 there.”
“I 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 —and it doesn’t give too much hope either. People are looking for something more substantial.”
Proud family and friends, including his mother and three siblings, were joined by more than 60 clergy marking what the diocese called “a significant moment in the life of the local Church”.
In his sermon, Bishop Cullinan said: “This is the day the Lord has made — a day of joy for Stuart’s 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.
Following the ceremony, Bishop Cullinan said that an occasion such as Fr Stuart’s ordination brings hope to the Catholic Church.
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.
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