AGERPRES special correspondent Florin Zafiu reports: Members of the Romanian Royal Family attended on Wednesday in a Te Deum service at the parish "St. George the Great Martyr and St. Columba", in Dublin, and listened to an address delivered by His Eminence Nectarie, the first Romanian Orthodox bishop of Ireland and Iceland. Hundreds of Romanians living in Dublin go every Sunday to pray at the parish "St. George the Great Martyr and St. Columba", where children can learn Romanian every week.
Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, and His Royal Highness Prince Radu met on Wednesday with Joe Hackett, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the Royal Family's official visit to Dublin from June 23 to 27, to support cooperation between Romania and the Republic of Ireland within the European Union, as well as to support the European path of the Republic of Moldova. Subsequently, the Royal Family held discussions with Verona Murphy, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Senator Maria Byrne, coordinator of the Romanian-Irish Friendship Group at the Irish Parliament.
"A very substantial meeting about the Republic of Moldova, about projects, about the economy, about history, freedom, and the future, about how we can collaborate on projects. We support the Republic of Moldova's entry into the European structure. I enjoyed it very much," Her Majesty Margareta said on Wednesday.
The meeting with Irish officials was followed by a visit to the Romanian Orthodox Church in Dublin, where the Royal Family met with Bishop Nectarie, ordained for the newest diocese in the Romanian diaspora, during the Holy Liturgy held at the Parish of St. George the Great Martyr and St. Columba in Dublin.
The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland is based in Dublin and was established by the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in February 2024. Together with the Archdiocese of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it is part of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe. Bishop Nectarie was enthroned in January 2025 as the first Romanian Orthodox bishop of Ireland and Iceland.
"On January 11, the first bishop of Ireland, His Eminence Nectarie, was enthroned as bishop of Ireland and Iceland. It was a beautiful event attended by many bishops from home and abroad. We needed a bishop because the number of parishes in Ireland has increased," said parish priest Raul Simion of St. George the Great Martyr and St. Columba Parish in Dublin on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Romanians attend services officiated by Romanian priests every Sunday, with over 5,000 believers participating in this year's services on the occasion of the Holy Easter celebrations. The place of worship was purchased with the support of the Romanian community and previously belonged to a Catholic church. The priests' missions have been expanded to support the community, with approximately 70 Romanian children born in Ireland taking Romanian language and literature lessons within the parish.
"This parish in Dublin was established in 2009 with the blessing and encouragement of His Eminence Joseph. Most Romanians settled in our area, and His Eminence, seeing the large number of Romanians, decided to establish a parish. We first served not far from here. For our patience, God put this church in our path, which we bought from the Catholic Church in Dublin in 2019, and in 2020 we began serving here. Every Sunday we have about 400-500 people who come to church. The church was purchased by the community; we did not find it on a website. It cost EUR 350,000, well below market price, but we took out a bank loan with the help of the faithful (...). It has a capacity of 700 seats on benches, was built in the 1970s, and we are trying to give it a Byzantine style. In addition to services, we also have other activities. Every Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., we have parish school, where parents bring their children to learn exclusively in Romanian. Romanian language and literature, religion, art, music, history, and geography of Romania are taught in Romanian by teachers who have either been in the country or work here. We have around 70 children divided into two groups. We are in the midst of the community with financial aid, there are people who unfortunately die and we help their loved ones take them home, we visit them in hospitals," said priest Raul Simion.
Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown and Prince Radu were welcomed by the clergy and parishioners of the Romanian parish, attending the Te Deum service. The Royal Family received from the priests an icon of the spiritual protector of Ireland, St. Patrick.
"We are delighted to welcome you to Dublin, at the Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland. It is an honour for our diocese (...) Historically speaking, imperial authority has supported the Church since St. Constantine the Great. The Romanian community here in Ireland enjoys the fruits of their labour and their love of country and faith. Thank you for the honour of visiting us, welcome to Dublin in one of the representative churches of the Romanian Orthodox communities here," His Eminence Nectarios, Bishop of Ireland and Iceland, conveyed to the Royal Family.
The Custodian of the Romanian Crown was impressed by the service officiated by the Romanian priests and by the way in which the community manages to preserve its traditions and folk costumes thousands of kilometers away from its homeland.
"It was an important spiritual experience, and I felt incredible human warmth here. I liked it so much; such beautiful people have preserved our traditions. There are so many Romanians, and it's wonderful what they have achieved with the church. I am very impressed," said the Custodian of the Romanian Crown.
This is the fourth foreign visit of the Royal Family in 2025, after Princess Sofia's visit to Poland (March) and the visits of the Custodian of the Crown and Prince Radu to the Republic of Moldova (April) and the Republic of Estonia (May).
Comentează