Archbishop of Tuam and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Killala, Francis Duffy will commission 64 Lay Leaders – women and men – during Chrism Mass in Saint Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina this evening.
Their commissioning by Archbishop Duffy comes after a period of over two years of study, following which they each received a Certificate in Lay Leadership from the Newman Institute of Education, Ballina.
Lay Leaders will be members of parish ministry teams, working alongside their priests and actively bringing the love and compassion of Christ to their ministry of care for the bereaved.
A key focus of the course was to prepare Lay Leaders to co-lead with their priests the various rites contained in the Order of Christian Funerals.
For example, Lay Leaders can co-lead prayers in the Wake House or Funeral Home, in the Church for the Rite of Reception, the Prayer of Final Commendation, and the Rite of Committal in the Cemetery.
During their training the Lay Leaders studied subjects such as Theology, Culture and Ministry.
Course participants also completed pastoral placements in six host parishes covering areas such as scripture meditation, guided prayer, Advent and Lent reflection evenings, and co-leading funeral rites with their priest.
Fr Brendan Hoban of the Archdiocese of Killala has been giving more details on this to Midwest Radio’s Alannah Nolan….
