From "Just Ticking Along" to Missionary Disciples: How One Irish Parish Transformed in Two Years

“We were just ticking along. We thought we were doing okay because we didn’t know any different.”

That’s how Bridie describes All Saints Parish in Newtowncunningham, Ireland, before they partnered with Catholic Christian Outreach. Weekend masses, the occasional parish event, but nothing that could be called evangelization.

“We thought this is okay, we’re ticking the boxes,” she reflects. “Until something comes along and shows you what could happen, you just don’t realize what you’re missing.”

Two years later, All Saints has taken over 80 people through CCO faith studies and has nearly 100 active volunteers. Parishioners recognize each other around town and share what they’ve dubbed “the CCO nod” a knowing look between people whose lives have been transformed by encountering Jesus in a deeper way.

How did this dramatic transformation happen in a small Irish parish?

It started with a chance encounter in a local coffee shop. Father Philip, All Saints’ new parish priest, happened to run into CCO co-founder André Regnier, whom he’d known years earlier. Over coffee, André shared about CCO’s mission of forming missionary disciples.

Father Philip was immediately interested. “Our priest here is all evangelization, all the time,” Bridie explains. André suggested meeting with the local bishop, and Father Philip managed to arrange a breakfast meeting for the very next morning.

The bishop was enthusiastic and suggested they pilot the program at Father Philip’s new parish. Father Philip approached Bridie, knowing her heart for youth ministry from years of taking students to Lourdes.

“He said to me, ‘This new thing is coming up, this program. You’re going to love it. Why don’t you come and try it? It’s on a Tuesday night in my house. It’s six weeks,'” Bridie recalls. “I thought, well, it’s six weeks. It’s a Tuesday night. I’ll try it. Little did I know what I was letting myself into.”

Bridie’s first Discovery faith study group included just four or five people. And she wasn’t immediately sold.

“The first week I didn’t really like it. I thought, this is a bit strange, but I said, I’ve signed up for six weeks. So I’m going to go for the six weeks. And just every week, it was drawing you in all the time.”

By the end of Discovery, she loved it. After completing three studies, Discovery, Source, and Commission, Bridie experienced a profound shift: “I could say, this is amazing, and I would love this for other people. We can’t sit on this. We are supposed to go out. We’re made to go on mission. We’re made to evangelize.”

Just four months later, Father Philip approached her again: “Do you know what, Bridie, you’re going to get a team now, and you’re going to take them through Discovery.”

“I thought, oh, I don’t know if I am or not,” she laughs. “But anyway, I did take three or four ladies through it. It’s so different when you come through it yourself, and then you deliver it. When you see other people grow, that realization hit me, this is amazing.”

What happened next illustrates the power of CCO’s approach. Two women from that first group Bridie led Margaret and Maria went on to complete the studies themselves. They then led their own groups through Discovery, Source, and Commission. Now they’re starting their second round of groups.

“That’s only since February ’24,” Bridie marvels. “And to see the growth, and still to see the enthusiasm in them, it just makes you want to keep doing it.”

These women were “very quiet” parishioners before CCO, people who “weren’t involved in the parish.” Now they’re encouraging new leaders and sharing their passion for the program with others.

“These were random people that the Holy Spirit put in our hearts to ask to do it,” Bridie explains. “It’s just phenomenal to see the change in them.”

The changes go far beyond individual conversions. All Saints now has people volunteering for ministries they never would have considered before—becoming lectors, helping with youth programs, joining the parish council.

“We have people who have come through CCO who have become readers in the church, who never in a million years—and I would know these people from being a child—would have thought they would ever get up and read,” Bridie says.

The parish now runs Alpha Youth, has started a faith-based youth group called “the OGs” (the Originals), and in addition to the preparation provided by the school this newly formed youth ministry group is also facilitating a confirmation program which hopes to develop and enhance the young persons faith prior to receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Over half the parish council has completed CCO faith studies

But perhaps most remarkably, evangelization has become natural and organic. In the local coffee shop, a waitress who went through the program now asks customers having a bad day if they’d consider lighting a candle in the chapel or shares what she’s learned through CCO.

“It’s just a normal conversation among this group of people,” Bridie observes. “They’re sharing videos on evangelization in WhatsApp groups. It’s so hard to put into words.”

People who previously “just went to mass because they just went to mass” now say Mass is “the highlight of their week.” They have “more reverence,” understanding what they’re participating in rather than just “ticking the box.”

What makes CCO’s approach so effective? Bridie points to two key factors: excellent materials and ongoing missionary support.

“The program itself is packaged so well,” she explains. “Discovery takes you back to basics. The way it’s packaged makes it very easy to deliver. You can sell it to anybody, no matter what level they’re at.”

But equally important is the coaching and support from CCO missionaries. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” Bridie emphasizes. “I’m still not ready to go out on my own. There were weeks where you could email CCO and say, ‘Look, I’m not getting this from one of my participants, where should I go?’ They were just fantastic.”

This combination of proven materials plus ongoing relational support enables ordinary parishioners to become effective evangelizers and group leaders.

When asked about her vision for All Saints’ future, Bridie dreams big: “I would love to see a sufficient number of volunteers, lay people and parish council members complete CCO and thus enabling us to grow as a parish of missionary disciples. A parish that helps and encourages each other on their faith journey by intentional accompaniment. A parish that has evangelization embedded in the day-to-day life of the parish. That would be my dream that the parishioners themselves could say, ‘This is the way our parish works. This is what we do.'”

She’s already working toward that vision, having half the parish council complete CCO training to ensure the evangelization mindset permeates parish leadership.

“I’d love to see our diocese encourage CCO faith studies in every parish.” she adds. “It’s the only way going forward.”

All Saints Parish’s transformation represents something many Catholic communities are hungering for—a shift from maintenance mode to missionary discipleship. In just two years, what was a typical parish “just ticking along” became a vibrant community of missionary disciples who naturally share their faith and create more missionary disciples.

As Bridie puts it: “We were like many other parishes ticking along in maintenance mode unaware of what we were missing.. There was no evangelization . Now I can see it continuing to grow. The difference we made in that year, even if half of that continues, it would be amazing.”

The story of All Saints Parish proves that with the right approach, support, and openness to the Holy Spirit, any parish can become a center of evangelization and missionary formation.

The question isn’t whether transformation is possible, it’s whether we’re willing to move beyond “just ticking along” to embrace our calling as missionary disciples.

All Saints Parish is part of CCO’s growing international parish partnership program. To learn more about bringing CCO’s faith formation and evangelization training to your parish or diocese, visit cco.ca/parish or that our team.