Fr. Godfrey O'Donnell (1939 – 14 February 2020) was a priest from

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, in the

Romanian Orthodox Church The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...

. From

, O'Donnell, was a Jesuit priest for 28 years, who left the order in 1985 to marry Ruth.Orthodox Christians of all shades now have a significant presence in Ireland
Patsy McGarry, Irish Times, 14 May 2008. Godfrey and his wife Ruth became involved in the Greek Rite church in Arbour Hill in Dublin, and joined the Romanian Orthodox church in 1999. O'Donnell was asked by the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Joseph, based in Paris, to help secure a Romanian Orthodox priest for their community in Ireland. In 2000 Godfrey was instrumental in the establishment of Romanian Orthodox services in Dublin, which began in the Chapel in Belvedere College in 2001. In 2004 O'Donnell became the first Irish-born person to be ordained a Romanian Orthodox priest. He was ordained in the Jesuit Chapel of

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

, where Romanian Orthodox services were held each weekend. Fr. O'Donnell ministered from The Romanian Orthodox Church based at Christ Church Leeson Park. O'Donnell was elected President of the

Irish Council of Churches The Irish Council of Churches (ICC) (founded 1922, reorganised under its present name 1966) is an ecumenical Christian body. It is a sister organisation of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. Member churches are currently: * The Antiochian ...

in 2008. In 2013 O'Donnell was awarded the accolade of 'Stavrophore' by the Romanian Orthodox Church. O'Donnell served as head of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Ireland, and attended ecumenical and inter-faith, state services such as the

National Day of Commemoration In Ireland, the National Day of Commemoration ( ga, Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta) commemorates all Irish people who died in past wars or United Nations peacekeeping missions. It occurs on the Sunday nearest 11 July (see Irish Calendar), the a ...

in this capacity. He died at his home in

Swords, Dublin Swords ( or ), the county town of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated ten kilometres north of Dublin city centre. The town was reputedly founded . Located on the Ward River (Ireland), Wa ...

, Ireland, on 14 February 2020, aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Godfrey 1939 births 2020 deaths People from County Londonderry Former Jesuits Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism Eastern Orthodox Christians from Ireland Christian clergy from Northern Ireland Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Burials at Dardistown Cemetery