Irish Priest Rides Scooter For Christmas Eve Mass Recessional in Viral Video

Jacqueline Burkepile -
@Fairplaygus, Twitter / @Ballyroanparish, Twitter

What are your thoughts about this?

Fr. Peter O’Connor of Dublin, Ireland made headlines this week after riding a scooter down the aisle at Christmas Eve Mass.

The pastor of Ballyroan Parish in Dublin told his congregation “that he received the scooter from Santa and wanted to test it out.”

The parish posted a video with the caption, “Fr. Peter’s Christmas present put to very good use! Happy Christmas”. The video depicts Fr. O’Connor providing the congregation’s final blessing, then rolling away on a scooter for the recessional.

Here’s the video below:

Click here if you cannot see the video above.

Other videos of the full recessional also surfaced. ABC News posted the pastor rolling all the way down the aisle. The congregation also cheers and applauds.

Here’s another video below:

Click here if you cannot see the video above.

The full post reads, “This Irish Catholic priest made a memorable exit from Christmas Eve Mass when he went rolling down the aisle on a scooter. / Father Peter O’Connor told the children in attendance that he received the scooter from Santa and wanted to test it out.”

The video received mixed reactions–some positive, but many negative.

@FergusFSU, Twitter

This user said, “Sacrilegious and scandalous. / Yet another priest making the Mass about himself instead of God.”

@AlexaARyan, Twitter

Another user added, “Total irreverence. The Holy Mass is Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary.”

@WmTWaterman, Twitter

This user also said, “Inappropriate in church, especially at Mass. Would be fine at a holiday party or other event.”

@JojomolojoLF, Twitter

Another user added, “I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he’s innocent and well-intentioned. But agree–it’s disrespectful in what should be the Holy of Holies. Our priests should lead by example [and] teach children reverence of the Blessed Sacrament.”

@GloriaKulcheski, Twitter

This user said, “It’s at the end of Mass and there are lots of children loving it. Let’s not forget Christmas is about hope and joy.🎄”

Ballyroan Parish even responded to the video’s negative comments:

@Ballyroanparish, Twitter

The full post reads, “It was at the end of our Christmas Eve Children’s Mass. Fr. Peter shared his new present with our children. We believe that faith can be fun too in our parish community.”

What are your thoughts?

[See also: “The Veil Removed”: Powerful Film Reveals How Heaven Miraculously Joins Earth at Mass]

[See also: The First-Ever Mass of the Americas in the Extraordinary Form is Beautifully Breathtaking]
Cookie Settings