Welcome to the Irish Augustinians
Provincial Office, St. John's Priory, Thomas Street, Dublin 8. D08F8NW
Tel: +353 (01) 4851516
vocations
A message from our Vocations Director - Fr Colm O'Mahony OSA
It has been a privilege journeying these past few years as vocations director for the friars. I have met some wonderful people who are like me, and my fellow friars are on that great pilgrimage of life towards God.
I believe that when you have a vocation in life, it is always something worth exploring, whatever it may be. Our current students will tell you that it involves some risk, but they will also say they have gained so much in crossing that threshold of faith. Take, for instance, Adeel, who travelled all the way from Pakistan to Ireland in order to begin a life with the friars, or indeed Fearghal, who gave up a promising career in economics to join us. I could go on but what I have found in my own faith journey is that doors open when you least expect it. You can see how this happened in my own life’s journey by watching my YouTube video below or reading a fuller account of my own life story on the Friar Profile page.
Our Augustinian student programme has been very successful. The students have benefitted hugely from our education on the Augustinian charisms and what it means to be an Augustinian in Ireland now. It is a question that is always beneficial to ask because if you ask the right question, therein will be the answer. The answer, I believe, is to meet people where they are at, and that is something that this vocation work has brought home time and again. The goal is not the end but rather the journey and meeting people at the very moment they are in and what they are experiencing.
If you feel you would like to chat about beginning your journey with us, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email, phone or the form below.
religious vocation
“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.” St Augustine
We are religious priests and brothers following in the footsteps of Christ and St. Augustine since 1244. As ‘Active Contemplatives’ and ‘Men of Heart’, we live our religious vocation within community. However, to be an Augustinian is to first serve God and His people in diverse ministries such as brotherhood, priesthood, education or missionary work, to name but a few. Our Order is a brotherhood within the Catholic Church, so you need to be a Catholic to join. And as we are an order of brothers, you also need to be male, a person of faith and looking for your way of living that faith within a religious community.
Additionally, to become an Augustinian assumes a certain faith commitment and vocation to religious life. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean being overly churchy; rather, it means being a person with a commitment to their faith. As a friar, you will be a professed brother first, and then you may also wish to be a priest, but that’s another choice to be made and involves further study and training.
