Photo: Raphoe Diocese
Father Johnny Moore, the Parish Priest of Templecrone, celebrated his Silver Jubilee of Ordination this week.
Fr Moore’s 25 years of faithful service were marked with a Jubilee Mass in St. Cróna’s Church Dungloe on Sunday, followed by a Corpus Christi procession.
Born and baptised in Dungloe, Fr Moore has faithfully served the Archdiocese of Birmingham and, more recently, the Diocese of Raphoe. He served for many years in Ardara as a curate before moving to his native Dungloe in 2022.
He is known for his “good humour, generous spirit, and pastoral heart”, according to a tribute from the Raphoe Diocese.
Earlier this year, Father Johnny oversaw the restoration of the original baptismal font from St Peter’s, Dungloe. Remarkably, it is the very font in which Fr Moore was baptised and he had it installed last November in St. Cróna’s Church on the very anniversary of his birth and baptism, and at the exact same hour, 3:00 p.m.
“This deeply personal and prayerful project brought a tangible sense of connection between past and present to the parish of St. Cróna,” said a Diocese spokesperson.
“Fr. Johnny described it as an answer to prayer and a moment of grace, reconnecting generations through the waters of new life.”
Elsewhere in the Diocese, Kilmacrennan priest Canon Denis ‘Dinny’ McGettigan’s sixty years of faithful service were celebrated with a special Mass on Friday at St Eunan’s Church in Raphoe.
The celebration also acknowledged another remarkable achievement: the Sapphire Jubilee of Archdeacon William McMenamin, who was celebrated for 65 years of priestly ordination.