Bishop Fintan welcomes Ardens missionaries to UCC and Cork & Ross. Photo: Diocese of Cork and Ross Ardens missionaries have begun work at University College Cork, continuing the campus ministry developed by FOCUS over the past three years.
The new Europe-based Catholic apostolate includes 17 missionaries previously trained by FOCUS and is deploying teams to Cork, Belfast, Passau and Vienna.
Bishop Fintan Gavin of Cork and Ross welcomed the new missionaries during planning and orientation days with the UCC chaplaincy team. Encouraging them at the Mass, Bishop Gavin said their task was “to accompany [students], to listen to them, to create spaces where they can belong” and help create opportunities for encounter with Christ.
The Diocese of Cork and Ross told The Irish Catholic that FOCUS’ three year presence at UCC had made a “significant” impact through personal invitation and building relationships. “Over the course of their three-year presence, many students returned to the practice of their faith and became actively involved in their local communities of faith,” the diocese said.
It said Ardens now has an opportunity to build on those foundations through pastoral care, faith formation and leadership.