By Gretchen Keiser

Six priests will be ordained for the archdiocese of Atlanta during the month of June – three at the Cathedral of Christ the King and three in ceremonies in Ireland prior to their coming to serve the church in Georgia.

The unusual combination of circumstances means that there will be two ordination ceremonies at the Cathedral in June – one on Saturday, June 2 for Deacons Albert W. Jowdy and James F. Murray and one on Saturday, June 30 for Deacon James A. Schillinger, who is studying in Rome, Italy.

In Ireland, Deacon Richard G. Meehan will be ordained Sunday, June 3 at St. John’s College in Waterford; Deacon John J. Molloy will be ordained Saturday, June 15 in his home parish in Leixlip, County Kildare; and Deacon John Farrelly will be ordained with his class at All Hallows College in Dublin on Sunday, June 10.

The three priests coming to the diocese from Ireland are the largest group to come in a single year since 1967, when he himself was one of the five who came, said Father Edward J. Dillon, who is responsible for the archdiocese’s recruitment program in Ireland. Father Dillon travels to Ireland annually to speak with seminarians and young men who might be interested in serving the church in the archdiocese. The program was begun in 1950 by Monsignor Patrick J. O’Connor, now deceased, whose work brought at least 30 of the archdiocese’s priests to Georgia from Ireland. Father Dillon has been working on the program since 1976 and said that, in addition to the three priests being ordained this year there are seven students who will be ordained for the archdiocese in coming years.

The Rev. Mr. Jowdy, 27, was born in New Bern, N.C. and spent early years in Chapel Hill area where his father was teaching pharmacy at the University of North Carolina. Later the family moved to Athens as his father assumed a position at the University of Georgia. St. Joseph’s parish in Athens nurtured his love for the church, the deacon said. “I think it was the parish life there more than anything else that gave me a love for the church.”

As a college student at the University of North Carolina, he began studying astronomy and psychology and “about midway through it became clear I was really just running from a vocation.” He changed his major to philosophy and applied to the archdiocese as a seminary candidate. A 1979 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, he has spent four years in study at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. His training included six months spent in parish work at St. John the Evangelist parish in Hapeville. He also worked at Sts. Peter and Paul parish in Decatur two summers ago. The six months in Hapeville was “a very affirming experience,” he said. “It is not really until you belong to a parish like that that you can be certain in your heart you are called to the priesthood,” he said.

With Deacon James Murray, he will be ordained at the Cathedral of Christ the King at 11:00 a.m. June 2 and he will celebrate his first Mass at St. John the Evangelist on Sunday, June 3 at 12:30 p.m.

The Reverend Mr. Murray, 26, was born in Detroit, Mich., but came to Atlanta as a child and grew up in the Cathedral parish. A 1976 graduate of St. Pius X High School, he studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio and graduated in 1980.

He received a master’s in divinity and a master’s in theology from St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach. His work in parishes includes serving as a coordinator of the summer camp at Sts. Peter and Paul parish in 1982 and serving as a deacon at St. Joseph’s in Athens during 1983. Following his ordination at the Cathedral, he will celebrate his first Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, June 3 at 2:30 p.m.

The two new priests will also come together at St. Joseph’s parish in Athens, where both have roots, for a Mass of Thanksgiving on Pentecost Sunday.

The Reverend Mr. James A. Schillinger, 26 is a native of Philadelphia where his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Schillinger, and two brothers and their families still live. Originally a student at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, he later transferred to the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio as an independent student without affiliation with any particular diocese. Through a friendship with Father Richard Lopez, he began to consider coming to Atlanta and made a commitment to the archdiocese during his senior year.

A 1980 graduate of the Josephinum, he has spent the last four years studying in Rome. He graduated last June from the Pontifical Gregorian University and will graduate this June from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas with a master’s degree in ecumenical studies.

In addition to his studies, he was worked with Father Bob Poandl at St. Luke’s parish in Dahlonega, at a parish in London, England, and at St. Anthony’s parish in the West End of Atlanta. Ordained a deacon in Rome last summer, he spent his first period of time as an ordained minister in St. Catherine of Siena parish in Kennesaw. His ordination to the priesthood will be held at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Saturday, June 30 at 10 a.m. His first Mass will be celebrated at St. Jude’s parish in Sandy Springs on Sunday, July 1 at 12:45 p.m. He will also celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish in Philadelphia the following Sunday.

The Reverend Mr. John J. Molloy, 24, is a native of Birmingham, England, who was raised in Ireland in Leixlip, County Kildare. The son of Mr. and Mrs. John Molloy, he has studied for the past seven years at St. Patrick’s College in Carlow, a part of St. Patrick’s Pontifical University of Maynooth. He has received a diploma in philosophy and a diploma in theology from the Pontifical University and has served as a deacon in a parish in Southall, England.

He will be ordained in his home parish on Saturday, June 16, and is expected to be in the archdiocese to begin his first assignment on July 5.

The Reverend Mr. Richard G. Meehan, 25, was also born in Birmingham, England, but returned with his family to live in Ireland when he was 10 years old. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Tim Meehan, he has been studying at St. John’s College in Waterford, where he will be ordained on Sunday, June 3. He received a diploma in arts and philosophy from St. John’s in May, 1979 and a diploma in theology in June, 1983. Following ordination, he is expected to be assigned in the archdiocese as of June 25.

The Reverend Mr. John Farrelly, 28, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Farrelly, has spent the last six years studying at All Hallows College in Dublin. Prior to entering the seminary, he had lived and worked in Australia for a number of years. He received a bachelor of divinity degree from St. Patrick’s Pontifical University in Maynooth in 1983 and will be ordained with his class at All Hallows on Sunday, June 10. He is expected to be in the diocese July 5.