Fr. Niall O'Riordan, OJSS
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Pastornoriordanarchdpdx.orgBorn in Dublin, Ireland in September of 1980, Fr. Niall O’Riordan came to the priesthood through his devotion to St. Joseph the Worker. Established as a successful and well-respected veterinarian in Ireland, Fr. Niall felt an underlying and persistent calling to the priesthood. Through prayer and novenas to St. Joseph, things fell into place and Fr. Niall left his work and practice in Ireland to enter the seminary of ‘Work of Jesus the High Priest’ (OJSS) in Rome in June of 2010. He spent 8 years in Rome studying in the Holy Cross University there. After his ordination on December 8th 2017 in Rome, his first assignment was based in Slovakia where he spent 5 years working with Roma Gypsy families. Never thinking he would ever hold a ministry in America, God had other plans. In March of 2020, he accepted a request to conduct a week-long mission at St Edwards parish in Keizer. During the mission, the pandemic struck and Europe was locked down. “Stranded” here, he contributed to a livestream Gospel ministry consisting of daily Holy Masses and Holy Hours which came to the attention of Archbishop Sample. The archbishop invited the priests and sisters of the OJSS community to extend their mission to Portland as pastors and assistants in parishes where the archdiocese did not have enough priests. Fr. Niall first served as parochial vicar at St. Henry parish assisting pastor, Fr. Francesco, OJSS. In the fall of 2023, he agreed to accept the pastorship at St. Joseph the Worker while still continuing his responsibilities at St. Henry’s. Fr. Niall’s calling to priesthood and to our parish both came through devotion to the father of Jesus. It is indeed fitting that he ends up in our parish, named for the saint who guided him to the priesthood and to service to others.
