Father Robbie O’Callaghan
parishpriest@holytrinitygci.uk
My journey to the priesthood was somewhat different to many young men. Born in Leicester in 1970, I attended both Holy Cross Priory and School. Then in 1978 moved house and attended Mother of God Church/St Peter’s Parishes and attended Christ the King Junior School and then English Martyrs Secondary.
When I left school at sixteen I began an old fashioned apprenticeship as a Horologist (watchmaker/repairer) and worked in the industry until my late twenties. After being made redundant from this trade, I retrained in Sales and Marketing and lived and worked in London.
My first vocation, calling in life, was to marry my wife Angela on 21 August 1999 whom I had known for many years. Unfortunately Angela died after only 11 months of marriage on 2nd August 2000 of Meningitis. As you can imagine this was to be a time of severe trauma and grief. It saw my relationship with God come to be slightly strained to say the least. Eventually though I recovered, as much as anyone could, and embarked on rebuilding my life.
Part of that rebuilding was to go on many retreats to improve my relationship with God. I found a great convent in South Wales which is situated close to the sea. For the next few years I would travel from London on retreat every three months. It was on one of these trips that I continued my own discernment process and heard the Lord calling me to discern a priestly vocation. To be honest, it was a conversion experience for me, through the entire trauma of life I was being called to the priesthood. One day whilst walking on the beach, I fell to my knees and begged the Lord to let these feeling pass me by, but it wasn’t to be. On my next visit to Leicester I stopped off at the vocation director’s house and the rest is history.
I entered my priestly formation at Campion House, Osterley to do my A Level English Literature and Theology and moved onto the Pontifical Beda College, Rome for four years. What a place to train to be a priest in the Eternal City, I felt truly blessed. At the end of this formation I was ordained a Deacon at St Paul’s Outside the Walls. Bishop Malcolm McMahon ordained me on the 26th July 2008 at the Most Blessed Sacrament Church, Leicester. What a glorious occasion to have family, friends, the parish and my fellow priests and religious there to join me in offering up my life to God in service.
I can honestly say that becoming a priest has been the most blessed thing. I have come to realise in these past few years that my journey is only starting. The gifts that come my way each day I never dreamt were possible. My life experience and my love of God have made me realise that the Lord has been walking with me all my life. I hope to take that life experience and continue to give it in service to the faithful of the Parish of Holy Trinity GCI .
