Fr Columba to say mass in Kilcullen
Fr Columba, christened Brian, is now 33 and has been a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal since 2001. He is the son of Robert and Maedbh Jordan who used to live in Kilcullen.
He ascribes his religious vocation to reading the writings of St Faustina Kowalska, the visionary Polish nun who instituted the Divine Mercy devotion. Then 17, he says he had been 'dabbling' in various New Age religions at the time, though he can recollect having had 'ideas' about the priesthood from the time he was five. The turnaround came at a Divine Mercy conference which his father Robert had helped to organise.
After a stint at NUI Maynooth studying Information Technology, and playing the guitar in his spare time, he finally decided to try the religious life 'for a year' after attending Pope John Paul II’s 2000 World Youth Day festival in Rome.
He joined the New-York based Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and has served in a number of the order's ministries, including being a member of its Mission Team. His musical interests were also put to use in his leading of the community's choir.
His next posting, now as a priest, will be to the second of the Friars of the Renewal houses here, in Derry. Their first one in Ireland was opened in Limerick.
Fr Columba's parents—Robert is a teacher in Sandymount, Maedhbh manages the Dietetics Department in Naas Hospital—have operated, as a hobby, an Irish photograph postcards website for some time, with all the proceeds from photograph sales being donated to the Renewal Friars.
They are available from Irish Picture Cards.com; phone 01-4925276; or email: sales@IrishPictureCards.com.
