author
Michael J. Phelan
Drawn from years of ministry in Australia and Ireland, these reflections offer a practical, experience-tested view of Catholic priestly life. His writing is direct and pastoral, focused on preparation, character, and the everyday demands of serving others.
1 Audiobook
The Young Priest's Keepsake
by Michael J. Phelan
About the author
Michael J. Phelan was an Irish Jesuit priest and religious writer, born in 1854 and died in 1932. Records from the Irish Jesuit Archives say he was born in Johnstown, County Kilkenny, studied at St Patrick's in Thurles and Carlow, and was ordained in 1880 for the Australian mission.
Before joining the Society of Jesus in 1893, he spent about thirteen years on the Australian mission and at one point served as president of the Goulburn diocesan seminary. In the introduction to The Young Priest's Keepsake, he also describes later spending a decade giving missions and retreats across Ireland, which helps explain the book's practical, first-hand tone.
His best-known surviving work is The Young Priest's Keepsake, a guide for young priests and ecclesiastical students. It stands out for its clear advice on ministry, speaking, conduct, and the human side of religious vocation, written by someone who had lived the life he was describing.