A Redemptorist on Marianella

Below is yesterday's post from Fr Gerry Moloney's blog.

It's appearing here for a number of reasons. I succeeded Fr Gerry in his Three Patron's 'nixer' and I cycle by Marianella every day.

"The last Redemptorist left Marianella yesterday, bringing to an end the Congregation’s presence in Rathgar going back more than a century. It was a sad day, the culmination of a long process of debate and prayerful deliberation, and Irish Redemptorists felt it keenly.

I first visited Marianella in 1979, as a 17 year old. I went to Dublin by train to undergo a series of tests to determine if I was a suitable candidate for the Reds. Marianella seemed so large and bright to me, and full of life. I liked it. Needless to say, I passed the tests (they clearly didn’t check too deeply for mental stability) and four years later I ended up living in Marianella as a theology student. 

In the decades since, I have spent almost half my life in Marianella – three years as a student, 23 years in Redemptorist Communications. Marianella is where I was ordained to the priesthood; it is in many ways the place where I grew up.

I have never been a fan of the building itself. It was classic 1960s architecture – square and grey and without personality (it didn’t have a single en suite room). But the location was fantastic. I loved the gardens and I loved the neighbourhood. Walks by the Dodder river always comforted and invigorated me.

I loved Rathgar village, the eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, though for many years my favourite restaurant was Forte’s take-away. Marianella was close to the city, yet I could go for weeks without ever venturing into the centre of Dublin. Rathgar supplied everything I needed. 

And I loved my almost five years doing a nixer as parish chaplain in the local Three Patrons Parish. 

I joined the Redemptorists partly because I didn’t think I was cut out for parish ministry. I liked the idea of living with a band of brothers in a religious community. I appreciate it even more since my health failed, but there was something about my time in Three Patrons Parish that I found fulfilling and even exhilarating. I miss the people there, just as I miss those who worshipped in Marianella chapel. Leaving Rathgar has been as painful for many of them as it has been for the Redemptorists.

Marianella was built at the same time as the spirit of Vatican Two was washing over the Church. It was an optimistic time. All manner of things seemed possible. And vocations, though not on par with the 1950s, seemed as if they would continue to stream in. 

The grey, sad building we finally vacated yesterday reflects the state of the Irish Church now – grey, dated, half empty, not fit for purpose, requiring a re-build. 

Marianella is a sign of the times. 

I am grateful for all the years I spent there – the best years of my life, literally. I am grateful for the opportunities I was afforded there to develop and express my ministry of preaching and publishing. I am grateful, most of all, for the people I met there and in Three Patrons, who gave me support when I needed it, and who offered me a nugget of hope for the future of the church in Ireland."