3 fathers, 1 voice

Driving along Manila’s rain-soaked roads on a gloomy November day with the CD player cued in to The Priests is like balm to an injured soul. It’s like standing in awe in a cathedral, as sunlight streams through crystal-clear stained glass windows.

You want to genuflect when you hear ther Benedictus. Your heart soars with each rising note; your worries fade as you savor each line of the immortal Ave Maria.

Call it therapy – soothing, reassuring. Call it catharsis – draining but relieving. Whatever it is, Irish priests Eugene O’Hagan, Martin O’Hagan and David Delargy are doing more than sing their hearts out. They’re reaching out to every wounded soul, caressing it with their stirring voices. And they’re addressing an urgent need by singing Be Still My Soul (final cut of the 14-track album).

SonyBMG, which is releasing the album, figured it might as well pull all the stops if it’s going to feed millions of hungry souls through the CD. The music giant forked out a whooping £1-M to sign up the reluctant recording stars.

Unlike most artists though, Fathers Eugene, Martin and David didn’t jump at this chance to take a crack at musical stardom. For one, they have their regular jobs: saying Mass, baptizing children, officiating weddings, ministering to the sick, hearing confessions, going to funerals.

Like good shepherds tending their flock, they have spiritual duties to fulfill.

And singing before a familiar crowd of parishioners is worlds apart from recording an album. It’s far more tedious, more unfamiliar.

In the first place, not one of the three priests expected their booming voices will find their way outside hallowed walls of the church into record bars halfway around the world.

“We have been taken by surprise,” Fr. Eugene speaks for his colleagues and long-time friends. “We were flattered by the interest and very excited about the project. On the other side, we were apprehensive about our goal.”

Fr. David told Time Magazine, “I prayed very long and hard about it.” Fr. Martin had other thoughts. He saw music as an eloquent way of spreading the Good News.

The three priests are not alone. Pope John Paul II released the Abba Peter, which contains old sermons, chants and multi-cultural rhythms. It turned out to be a big seller.

Their doubts erased, the next hurdle for the three priests was their schedule. Recording meant a string of press interviews to promote the album, not just in their native Ireland, but in the US, the Philippines and other countries as well.

Fr. Eugene calls the work “intense.” Which would they prioritize: their spiritual calling or their recording duties? For them, the answer is easy: they are priests first; recording artists, second.

They have a contract to show for that. One more thing. The trio will in no way allow their images to appear in promo campaigns that endorse such anti-Church practices as abortion and premarital sex. They will also give the proceeds of album sales to charity.

Their parishioners are not holding their beloved pastors back. They’re allowing them to tend to a bigger flock: the world. And Fr. Eugene is touched.

“Our parishioners have been supportive. It’s very touching and encouraging,” he notes.

After all, spiritual expertise doesn’t give these men of the cloth immunity from the pressures and hurdles of the recording process.

Fr. David has complained of exhaustion. Fr. Eugene, on the other hand, admits learning how to pronounce Spanish words (they have two Spanish songs, Plegaria and Hacia Belen) “is a challenge.” 

But the hardships soon vanished after he got the feel of the songs. In fact, it didn’t take him long to fall in love with the Spanish songs.

SonyBMG has so much confidence in the trio it had them on board since Day One.

Recalls Fr. Eugene, “We were initially asked to draw a list of songs we already knew from our repertoire. We picked songs common to us. We agreed on ten of the songs in the album.”

The rest of the songs they learned from scratch.

The careful attention to details, the intense promo campaign, the priests’ dedication are paying off. This early, Fr. Eugene reports their record producer is planning a follow-up album. But he’s taking things one step at time. He is wisely adopting a wait-and-see-attitude pending the CD’s long-term results.

Will concert tours in Catholic countries like the Philippines follow soon? After all, religious songs have a captive audience in this part of the world.

Again, Fr. Eugene demurs. He has parish duties to think of first.

“We can’t go there like most artists do because of our day jobs,” he says. But he’s not discounting the possibility of a concert tour.

“If it pleases God, we will go to Asia and the Philippines,” he replies.

The 48-year-old clergyman has seen and heard enough of Filipinos in Ireland and in the Philippines to know how deeply religious they are.

“We are aware of how deeply rooted the faith is in the Philippines,” he reveals. “We hold Filipinos in the highest regard as good examples of faith. Their attendance in Mass gives us great encouragement.”

It is his – and his colleagues’ hope that their debut CD give the same encouragement and instill the same faith in more people around the world.

“Hopefully,” Fr. Eugene says, “they will get some joy and inspiration from the CD. We also hope that it will give them encouragement in difficult times. In joyful times, we wish the CD will help people express thanksgiving to God who looks after us all.”

From the way your CD has comforted me that dreary afternoon, you and your friends need not worry, Father.