Faith Features

Liverpool-born Michael O’Rourke, 26, is currently living in St Albans, where, as a pre-novitiate with the order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, he is living with other priests in the community at the church of St Alban and St Stephen, while also attending a seminary in London as part of his training to be a priest, a process which could take at least six or seven years.

Find out how Michael got the "call":

Michael told us all about what his training involves and how he decided what type of priest he wanted to be – yes – there is a choice!

What made you want to join the order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart?

Michael: That’s a good question. When I was thinking about the priesthood, I finally plucked up the courage to speak to my Parish Priest to say that I was interested in becoming a priest, and he said ‘what type of priest do you want to be? Do you want to join a religious order or do you want to be a Diocesan priest?’ At the time I didn’t have a clue what the difference was and it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do.

Michael O'Rourke with Cardinal Cormac Mu

I think what made the decision for me was that my Parish church was under the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, so I’d grown up with them. The order also focuses on the heart of Jesus. There’s compassion and there’s love for people, especially the needy and the poor, and I think that was attractive to me because I’ve always been concerned about social issues. I think I got that from my dad who was involved in Trade Unions and was a councillor for the Labour Party.

It just chimed with what I was interested in and the reasons for me going down the priesthood route. The reason for me becoming a priest was to be a sign for people and to be there for people. In a world where there’s a lot of conflict and a lot of hatred, I want to show God’s love, to be like the heart of God on Earth, and that’s what the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are about, revealing God’s love for people. I think it’s a great sign for today so I think that’s really what made me go down the religious order route.

So what’s the difference between a religious order and being a Diocesan priest?

Michael: If you go down the Diocesan route you’re ordained for one particular area, so for Westminster you’d stay in the Diocese of Westminster. Also, those priests don’t take a vow of poverty so they have a bank account and a salary.

In a religious order you do take a vow of poverty, which means that you don’t get a salary every month. It sounds a big deal, but in reality it’s not, because the order looks after your needs. Although you’re not supposed to have a bank account you do get a certain amount of money every month that you live off, so the religious order supports you.

Also you’re not confined to one particular part of the country. You can go wherever your religious order is, so for our province it would be Ireland, England, South Africa,Venezuela, Russia and America and you can go round to any of those places.

In addition I think, and people might argue with this, the difference with a religious order is that you can focus on your talents more than a Diocesan priest. So, whereas a Diocesan priest would become a parish priest, when you’re in a religious order you don’t necessarily have to do this. Instead, you could work in schools or you could be a chaplain at a hospital, you can really tailor it more to what your talents are.

You might think you’d rather run retreats or work in schools or teach in a university, so it’s more varied. You’re still a priest and you’d still be saying Mass but you just wouldn’t necessarily be in control of a parish or tied to a parish. But the option is also there to be a parish priest if you want, so that’s what I think the great thing about a religious order is. You’ve got the opportunity to be a parish priest but you’ve got the opportunity to do other things as well.

So why would people choose the Diocesan option?

Michael: I wouldn’t like to say! It’s wherever God calls you, where you feel that you’re called to.

So how do you train?

Michael: It’s different if you join a religious order from if you join a diocesan order. In a religious order you become a pre-novitiate and in a diocesan order you become a first year in the seminary. In a religious order, because the training is slightly different and you’re living in the community, they start you as a pre-novitiate so there’s no strings attached. There’s no commitment, it’s just to see how you fit in with the community and whether it’s for you, before you take any vows.

It’s a bit like a taster then?

Michael: Yes – it’s testing the waters really and seeing if it’s for you, to see if you can adapt to community life, living with different people.

How long have you been doing this?

Michael: I started in February but I’d been in contact with the Vocations Director, Father Dave Nixon, up in Liverpool for a few years, just getting to know him and him knowing me and whether I would be a suitable candidate. But I started on the pre-novitiate in February, and moved to St Albans on the 1 February.

As well as living here and being part of the community, you go to Allen Hall Seminary in Chelsea. What sort of things do you do there?

Michael: You start with philosophy, theology and church history course. I started quite late into the course and I couldn’t do all of them so I’ve been doing two philosophy courses, a theology course and a course in church history.

How long will you be at college?

Michael: You can’t really say, because with religious orders you’re not tied down to a seminary and you can take time out to do a pastoral placement for a year or so, but courses usually last about three years.

There are certain courses that you also need to take to become a priest - theology, philosophy and courses on the sacraments - so in September I’m going to start at Heythrop College, which is part of the University of London, where I will be doing a Bachelor of Divinity (BD), so that will probably take about two or three years.

You clearly like studying?

Michael: I do and it’s a good job really, because it can be quite intense! I like to study. I’ve already done a degree in theology and religious studies with history, it’s what I’m interested in so it’s quite nice.

But after doing a BD, that’s not the end of it is it? How long does it actually take to become a fully fledged priest?

Michael: It depends on the person, and for religious orders it’s a bit different. If you’re in the seminary training for the Diocese, it’s usually six years. It’s more structured, and at the end of the six years you would be expected to be ordained. In religious orders you can become a brother and you don’t have to become a priest.

Also it [the time it takes] depends on the person and what their background is. Maybe if you already have a theology degree it wouldn’t take as long as those without a degree, so it could be five or six years. But then you could have the training in theology but might not feel confident or ready at that stage to become a priest so you could take six or seven years. I think it’s generally up to seven years.

And it’s whenever you feel ready?

Michael: Yes, on your part and on your formator’s, [your superior’s] part. If they don’t think you’re ready after six years, then obviously they wouldn’t put you forward as a candidate. So it’s a joint agreement.

But you could just stay a brother?

Michael: Yes, that’s the difference between a religious order and a Diocesan one. In the latter, you would be expected to be ordained a priest after five or six years, but in a religious order you can stay a brother and work in the community.

As a brother, you take the vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy as a priest would in a religious order, but you just wouldn’t be able to hear confessions or give sacraments or say the Mass.

As a “career” it’s not something like a doctor where you map your future out, you don’t go into the priesthood thinking I want to be Pope do you?!

Michael: No, I hope not! I don’t think there’d be much chance anyway!

But in a religious order there are varied options, so have you got an idea of what you might like to do?

Michael: I think at this point in time I don’t have a clue where I’m going to be in six or seven years! I’d like to leave that to God, I’m in His hands. I’d like to see myself in a position where I’m helping people in need, like the homeless. I’m also involved in a human rights organisation called Christian Solidarity Worldwide and they focus on religious freedom. I’d like to see myself in that type of role, but I don’t know. In a few years I might be saying I’d like to do teaching or something else so I’m still working that out.

So you’re at the beginning of your journey but because you’re in a religious order you can call a halt at any time, you haven’t made any commitment, you just have to see what happens?

Michael: That’s it yes. I think it’s about trying all sorts of different stuff to see where you’re comfortable, and where your talents are. I could say I’d be a rubbish teacher but you don’t know until you try it and it’s nice to have the opportunity to do that.

So, where am I going to be in six or seven years – I really don’t know! It’s just about trusting and following where God leads you.

But so far, you feel you have made the right decision?

Michael: Oh yes, up to now it is! At first I was a bit nervous and a bit scared especially moving away from home for the first time. I was thinking “what have I done?” because you’re moving in with people who, under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t be living with. It is a challenge but I haven’t regretted it one bit.

Do you get advice from the priests that you’re living with?

Michael: Oh yes definitely! They’re really happy that I’m there and if I did need to talk to them they’re there for me. But it’s nice to be able to have the opportunity to go to the seminary as well because there are people there who in the same age range as me going through the same stuff. It’s nice to go there for a few days but then come back to the parish, to the community.

I feel that you like being in the community?

Michael: Oh yes, I wouldn’t want to be shut away somewhere and that’s also what’s good about being a missionary, you are out with people. It’s taking the example of Jesus, he was out with people and that’s what we’re called to be, we’re not called to be stuck away in some room studying all day.

It sounds like once you’ve made the big decision the rest starts to fall into place. So what advice would you give to someone thinking about doing the same?

Michael: I would definitely say to anyone who is thinking about it, don’t be afraid. That’s what Jesus said in the gospels. “Don’t be afraid, trust in God, trust also in me.” Pope John Paul as well was always saying ‘don’t be afraid to follow God, don’t be afraid to give your life to Christ’.

I think young people now are brought up where everything is very self-centred, it’s all about what YOU’RE getting out of life, what you can achieve. People see religious life as taking away from what I could achieve, but I think if you follow Christ and you take this route it’s not about restricting yourself. I’ve found that you get much more in return, than what you would necessarily think, from becoming a priest.

So I’d say, don’t be afraid, try it, there’s no obligation, no one’s going to push you into doing something you don’t want to do.

Are there people you can talk to for get advice before taking the step?

Michael: Yes. In the religious order you’ll always have a formator and it’s the same in the seminary as well, you’ll have a spiritual adviser who you can speak to if you’ve got any concerns. But I would say just go and test the waters. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you, but nothing ventured nothing gained. You can always come away, it’s not a wasted experience at all.

When you look at the world today, do you ever feel a sense of despair at what a big job there is to do?

Michael: Yes, I think so, because St Paul says you’ve got to be all things to all people and he’s talking about being a priest as well. It is such a big job, and if we just relied on ourselves we couldn’t do it, but we rely on God and he’s gives us the means to do things.

I have dyslexia, I’m not a confident person at all, and this is not a job that I would have thought that I’d be doing, but if God calls us to do something then he’s going to give us the means to do it and he’s going to be there for us and he’s going to give us the strength. You surprise yourself and you grow as a person. The six or seven years of training does sound like a long time but really it’s not, it’s a time for us to grow and you do grow.

It’s about faith isn’t it?

Michael: Yes, at the end of the day that’s what it’s about. It’s about trust and if this is what God wants you to do, then he’s going to give you the means to do it.