The Catholic Priest With Nine Children
Father Ian Hellyer is a Roman Catholic priest – yet he has a wife and nine children. How can that be when priests have to make a vow of celibacy? Joanna Moorhead finds out that he's one of the few who can offer parishioners a family perspective.

Father Ian Hellyer is a Roman Catholic priest – but far from being celibate, he's a father. Not just to a couple of children, either: in true Roman Catholic fashion, Father Ian has lots of them – nine, in fact, ranging from 18-year-old Clare to seven-month-old Rose – taking in Teresa (17), Angela (15), Martha (11), John (nine), Luke (seven), Simeon (four) and Gregory (two) in between.

This time last year, Ian was an Anglican priest, and he and Margaret and their children lived in a large Victorian vicarage in Devon.

When the pope came to Britain last year, the Hellyers went to hear him celebrate mass in Birmingham – and that, says Ian, was pivotal. "Everything fell into place that day," he says. "I knew the Catholic church was where I belonged."

He is modest about whether an example like his could prompt the Vatican to rethink its rules on celibacy. "I'm happy to be a good witness of how the married priesthood could work, but I don't have a sense that raising it as an issue is my calling in the church." he says. "I'm happy to trust the pope to take the decision."

theguardian