The withdrawal of the Franciscan brothers from Athlone is a clear symptom of the ongoing crisis in the religious sector in Ireland.
That's according to Roscommon native and Religious Affairs Correspondent with the Irish Times Patsy McGarry.
His comments come following the shock news this week that the order will be leaving Athlone entirely next January following an 800 year association with the town.
Speaking on the Let's Talk show this afternoon, the Ballaghaderreen man says the decision taken by the Franciscans and the Dominicans in Athlone and others are over recent years is just the start of what will happen to the broader religious sector in the next decade.
"For these congregations, it's a very painful exercise in itself but its a recognition of the realities on the ground. They don't have the personnel to sustain these friaries anymore. We are talking about a massive change in the next decade in Ireland where priests in general, whether they're members of congreations or diocesan clergy, their numbers are going down and they're going down rapidly, and this is obvious to everybody. We are talking about a situation where the priests in Ireland are becoming rarer and rarer".
