Portroe father to be baptised in village church on Saturday

A father of two young children who with his family left crime-ridden South Africa for a better and safer life in Ireland has ended up living in Portroe, where he is now on the cusp of being baptised into the Catholic faith.

JP Schulz (35) will take his leap of faith in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Portroe on Easter Saturday when he is baptised and confirmed by local priest Fr Lorcan Kenny.

It all seems a world away from the life JP led with his wife of eight years, Patricia, and their two infant children when they lived back in their native Johannesburg just over a couple years ago.

South Africa is a country reputed for its high violent crime rate and reputation for having one of the highest murder rates in the world. The Schulz family just didn’t feel safe.

“It was a tough decision, but we just packed up everything after deciding we wanted a better life for ourselves and our children,” says JP. “When we looked to the future, we knew that the safety and security of Ireland could offer much more for our kids compared to South Africa. We knew that if we moved, we could walk the streets and be safe.”

Their native Johannesburg, with its high violent crime rate and murders, is just a totally different world to Portroe. Yet, JP and his wife were almost inured to the dangers in their native country and in some ways viewed them as normal life. “We were living in a jail without even realising it,” declares JP.

He and Patricia knew quite a bit about the quality of life in Ireland before emigrating here in January 2023. JP’s sister came to live here in 2016, settling in Wexford, while his sister-in-law and her family fled South Africa for a new life in Kildare three years ago after they were held up by criminals and their home raided.

“We were initially looking at settling near Kildare or Wexford to be close to our sisters. But due to finding work in Nenagh, and the bad housing crisis, we eventually settled in Portroe where we are renting,” JP reveals.

PART OF THE FURNITURE

The family are now well settled in locally and are part of the fabric of the parish. JP works as a cake decorator and bakery production manager with Quigley’s Bakery in Nenagh and Patricia works in childcare in Newport.

The family’s consensus is that they could not possibly have found a better place to live. “We love the friendly Irish people who have welcomed us with open arms into the community,” comments JP.

“I’m very grateful we ended up in a small town like Portroe rather than a big city. Ireland is amazing, including the weather. We love the rain and cooler climate, especially coming from a very hot and sunny South Africa.

“Portroe is not just a place where we managed to find a house to rent - we actually found a community. I’m now glad we didn’t end up in one of the big cities like Dublin or Limerick. After coming from such a big city ourselves, settling in a rural area like Portroe has just been unbelievable.”

When JP’s mother passed away earlier this year, he just could not fathom the way the community in his adapted parish rallied around him and his family.

Says JP: “We got so much help and love and support from our neighbours, even though we have only lived in the parish for two years. It was super-special. You would not get that in South Africa. I lived on a street in Johannesburg for 24 years and I never knew my neighbour. Here in Ireland people are just so welcoming, and in Portroe we are now treated as part of the furniture.”

RELIGION

JP was brought up in a Christian family, attending a Methodist church in South Africa. However, his wife Patricia is Catholic as are his two children, son Alessio (6) and daughter Lana (3).

Encouraged by a neighbour and a fine singer himself, JP ended up joining the Portroe Parish Choir, where he was welcomed with open arms by its Musical Director Alison Kennedy and fellow choir members. It was this warmth that prompted him apply to become a member of the Catholic faith.

“With my wife and kids being Catholics I wanted to become a Catholic also so we could jointly support our kids in their faith together,” JP reveals.

The process of joining the church began in September last year when he attended weekly lessons in the faith. Since then, he has attended a number of special Masses as part of his induction.

ceremony

Family and friends, members of the congregation and his fellow choir members will gather in the church in Portroe for a ceremony on Easter Saturday to celebrate his baptism and confirmation. As part of the song-filled ceremony, JP will also receive Holy Communion for the first time from Fr Kenny.

JP’s induction is special, as it runs counter to the consistent decline over recent decades in Mass attendance. Once a predominant Catholic state, this falloff has been reflected in official statistics. In 2011, just over 84 percent of people in Ireland identified as Catholic. This rate in the last census in 2022 had dropped to 69 percent.

For the Schulz family, they are now enjoying an entirely new life in a relatively peaceful and beautiful part of the world.

All in the span of just two years JP has started a new life here in Ireland and now enters a new religion.  For this bakery production manager, it must surely be the icing on the cake for both himself and his Catholic wife and young children to witness him become part of the same church.

Deborah O' Driscoll, a local lay church minister  for the Odhrán Pastoral Area, with the specific responsibility for Sacramental Preparation, said the pastoral area was pleased to introduce JP as the newest member of the Christian Catholic Community in Portroe Parish.

When Deborah first spoke to JP, she introduced him to the faith through The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) programme.

“With the help of Andy and Joy in the Diocesan Office, JP took on the role of studying for the past nine months,” Debroah told The Guardian.  “With Fr Lorcan’s assistance, JP was welcomed into the area. He was enrolled in the ‘Enrolment of the Elect’ and received the ‘Presentation of the Creed’, and the ‘Presentation of the Our Father’.

Looking forward to his baptism on Holy Saturday, Deborah said all involved in his induction into the  Catholic Church were so proud of JP, who, she noted, “joined us through his love of singing”.

In a statement, the Diocese of Killaloe said three adults from the diocese who will become Catholics on Holy Saturday night, will be receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.  “This will be the final step in a process that started last September,”  said the diocese.