A DERRYLIN priest, who has spent seven years working in Rome, and has been appointed as Head of Office in the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, hopes he can help people “re-engage or engage more deeply with the liturgy” in his new role.

Fr. Enda Murphy was appointed Capo Officio of the Second Office in the Congregation, having worked as an official in the Congregation since 2015.

He was ordained in 2001 in the Diocese of Kilmore, where he was appointed curate in the Parish of Laragh, and also chaplain to St. Clare’s College in Ballyjamesduff.

In 2008, he was sent to undertake further studies in Rome.

“While residing in the Irish College, I attended lectures and did my study at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute based at Sant’Anselmo, a university which is run by the Benedictine order.

“In 2013, I received a doctorate in liturgy. That year I also returned home and was appointed Director of Pastoral Services for the Diocese of Kilmore – a role which entailed being a support and resource person for parish pastoral councils, as well as promoting adult faith formation.

“I was also involved in organising the Kilmore Diocesan Assembly in October, 2014, which led to the subsequent Pastoral Plan for the diocese.

“I also had responsibility for youth ministry in the diocese, as well as being chaplain to the Cavan Institute – a third-level college based in Cavan town.”

Speaking about the role, Fr. Murphy describes the Congregation as similar to a ministry or department in a government.

“In the Roman Curia, there are nine congregations and various other councils, commissions and committees.

“The congregations in particular receive delegated responsibilities, or competencies, from the Pope, so in that way they assist him in exercising his ministry of governing and guiding the Universal Church.

“They are also there to assist Bishops’ Conferences around the world.”

The congregation, in particular, deal with the Church’s liturgy – how Catholics pray in public.

“All the liturgical books – the Missal for Mass, the various books for the administration of sacraments such as baptism, confirmation, matrimony and so forth – are all composed in Latin.

“That is one of the tasks of this congregation. These Latin books then have to be translated into vernacular languages, and this is the responsibility of the Bishops’ Conferences around the world.

“When they are translated and approved by the local bishops they are sent here to Rome for final confirmation, and then they can be used as the official liturgical books of a given country or region.”

Fr. Murphy is Capo Officio of the Second Office in the Congregation, which has responsibility for all the English-speaking world, northern and eastern Europe, India and Asia.

“My task is to distribute the various requests and queries which come from Bishops’ Conferences, individual bishops or members of the faithful to the various officials who work in the Second Office, and to follow up on the work.

“A very interesting aspect of the role is sitting in on the ad limina visits.

“These are the visits that bishops are required to make to Rome every five years or so in order to pray at the tombs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, and to give an account of the state of the Church in their countries to the Pope, and to meet with the various offices of the Roman Curia.

“This provides a real opportunity to see the diversity and richness of the Catholic Church and to understand that the challenges and opportunities that face the Church in Ireland are often very different to the challenges and opportunities facing the Church in other parts of the world.”

Looking at the role, Fr. Murphy continued: “I hope I can build a positive working environment. It’s often said that in The Vatican, we don’t think in years, but in centuries!

“We want to ensure that we don’t take that long to get our work done!

“I’d also like to play my part in ensuring that bishops’ conferences know that we are here to help them.

“Part of our task is also to promote the liturgy, so I’d like to do what I can to help in that regard.

“If we can help people to re-engage or engage more deeply with the liturgy – be it the mass, public prayer or the celebration of other sacraments – that would be a great thing.”

With papal appointments generally lasting five years, Fr. Enda will be in Rome for the forseeable future, but he does admit that a return to Ireland is a possibility.

“I’ll be here in Rome for the time being, but certainly, a return to Ireland and parish work will be on the cards. I very much enjoyed my seven years as a curate.

“I serve in a parish on Sundays here in Rome for a small English-speaking community, which is something I appreciate a lot,” Fr. Murphy added.