SS.CC seeks new Hearts

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts (SS.CC.), well known in the Cootehill and Cavan, Monaghan areas through fundraising activities and the innovative Damien House project at Tanagh, Dartrey, has appointed Shane Halpin as lay director of vocations in Ireland and England. A native of Drogheda, Shane is a former public relations consultant and has a Master's degree in pastoral ministry from All Hallows College, Dublin. He told The Anglo-Celt that he could not call anyone directly to a vocation or a life within the Sacred Hearts but he hoped to highlight what such a lifestyle had to offer. Someone who decided to become a priest, brother or sister in the order would become part of a long established global organisation that today has 2,000 members worldwide, he said. According to their particular gifts they would be encouraged to develop and grow and become active members of the community, meeting different people, learning languages and living life in a network covering 35 countries. The Sacred Hearts had male and female co-founders and is involved in a wide range of ministries including parish, chaplaincy, schools and prisons, and Shane emphasised that as the first lay director of Vocations and Missions for the Ireland-England Province, his role is twofold. The other part of his work involves focusing on ministry, ie, the congregation's activities and interaction with communities, in this country or on any of its missions around the world. The hope was that a renewed interaction with the community might also stimulate public interest in the Sacred Hearts' way of life. Developing and adapting the congregation's ministries to the needs of communities could reinvigorate the motivation and enthusiasm of existing priests, brothers and sisters in the order. Tanagh There was an example of that interaction of lay and religious at a workshop on January 23 at Damien House, Tanagh, which attracted 16 lay people committed to the future of the congregation in the area. The meeting looked at creating an umbrella group to oversee the role of Damien House, the farm at Tanagh and the order's other activities. It is envisaged, for example, that Damien House, which has provided a unique refuge and retreat facility for families and individuals affected by the Troubles in the North, might modify its role and mission in light of the peace dividend. Creative uses for the farm and developing an interaction with the adjacent Tanagh Outdoor Education Centre to provide retreats are other items the congregation and it members are examining. Numbers While the decision to appoint Shane is recognition of the increasing involvement of lay people in the Church, it also is recognition of an alarming fall in the numbers of brothers, sisters and priests entering religious life. The figures The Anglo-Celt received from Brother Harry O'Gara speak for themselves. Br. Harry recalls that in the early 1960s there were 12 to 18 new students coming to the seminary at Tanagh - the birthplace of the Sacred Hearts in Ireland-England - but this had fallen rapidly as the new liberal outlook in society began to take hold at that time. Not only had new students grown fewer in number each year, but some of the existing students left the seminary. The result was that only one new student had entered the order in the last 10 years. There are now only 22 SS.CC. priests and brothers in Ireland-England, and only 16 sisters in Ireland. So while the Sacred Hearts received a great moral boost last October when its most famous son, Fr. Damien of Molokai (the 'leper priest' who cared for and died with a banished colony of 8,000 leprosy patients on a Hawaiian island in the late 19th century) was canonised in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI, the reality is that they need to recruit new members if the order is to survive in Ireland. Shane has been getting used to his new role since being appointed in November and recognises the challenges, but points out that all he can do is facilitate the process. The call has to come from God. It is hard to recruit for the religious life, especially in the developed world, and more especially while celibacy was and remains an intrinsic part of the life on offer. (Br. Harry reminded us that even if diocesan priests were allowed to marry in the morning, the vow of celibacy would still pertain to religious orders.) But Shane believes that for some there remains a calling to the celibate way of life. He pointed to contemplative, enclosed orders like the Redemptorists and Cistercians, which are experiencing a growth in vocations despite the perceived austerity of their lifestyles. The Dominican order recruited 13 students in Ireland last year. It was therefore felt that potential vocations could be promoted within the Sacred Hearts also, part of the reasoning behind Shane's appointment, as with his background in public relations and working with congregations internationally he brings a skills base that might not have been available within the order. Shane started his career in London's PR business, and spent 10 years in South Africa working with projects for the homeless and marginalised. Since his return to Ireland in 2006, he has been active in promoting and encouraging lay involvement and ministry within the Church. He has worked in the Archdiocese of Armagh and has spent a year as a lay pastoral worker in the Archdiocese of Dublin prior to taking this new role. The Sacred Hearts provincial Fr. Michael Ruddy it was never more important to stand up and be counted than it was in the Church today. The order was excited about the prospects of trying new ideas and engaging creatively with the wider community, he added. Experience Shane is based at the Provincial Office (27 Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, call 086-2437790 or 01-6604899) will be organising discernment weekends and other events providing opportunities for people to experience the life of the Sacred Hearts and what it might mean for them. He welcomes any enquiries, formal or informal, about the SS.CC. way of life and opportunities to join the community either in Ireland or in the UK. He stressed that he is also asking people in the Cavan and Monaghan areas to become actively involved in supporting the congregation at Tanagh in terms of helping with activities at Damien House and other projects in the area. In that regard, he encourages people to contact either him at the numbers above or Br. Harry at 086-8182728.