The Life & Times of
Johnny Moore

I hail from a beautiful part of the world, a lovely little village called Portnoo way up in the far northwest corner of Ireland.

I grew up on a family farm the eldest of five children and my parents ran a guesthouse in the summer season.

Life was very nice growing up in a smalI country community. The church was about two miles away and my great grandmother lived next door to it. There I made my first Holy Communion and Confession. I made my Confirmation in the Parish Church of Ardara.

I did the usual things that most lads did growing up - going to secondary school and then left home to go to college to study law, eventually ending up working for the Chief State Solicitors office in Dublin Castle and that is where the story should have ended.

But the good Lord had other plans for me!

He decided that now that I had accomplished all that every yuppie could have dreamed about, he wanted something different of me - and eventually after a great struggle and to the upset of my family and close friends, I took myself off to a Passionist Monastery. Two years later, (having spent 10 months in Newcastle upon Tyne), I decided that I was not cut out to be a good and holy monk. Now you would think that would be the end of the story, but you guessed it... no. The late Fr. Seamus Gilroy (Vocation Director for this diocese) got his hands on me and persuaded me to work for a year as a lay pastoral assistant in Corpus Christi Parish, Wolverhampton, where I also worked part-time as a lay Prison Chaplain.
Then followed 6 years at Oscott College with me eventually being ordained on the 29th June 2000 (a Jubilee Priest!!!!) at St. Theresa's, Perry Barr. So far I have ministered for 16 months at Holy Family, Small Heath with Fr. Sean Grady followed by Fr. Tony Rohan.
Then I was moved to St. Dunstan's in Kings Heath where I spent over 2 years working in the Lord's work - being on 2 School Governing Bodies and Chair of one. I was also Chaplain to Bishop Challoner Secondary School, which had over 1200 pupils and upwards on 100 Staff. I was also Chaplain to Mosely Hall Hospital.
Now in his wisdom the Archbishop has asked me to come and serve you all as Parish Priest here at St Joseph's here in Bidford-on-Avon. Together let us hope and pray that this will prove to be a productive and enjoyable chapter in the Book of 'my life's pilgrimage.

May God bless you all.

Fr. Johnny