From Altar Server to Deacon
Paul Briers with Rt Rev. Paul Swarbrick, Bishop of Lancaster
For Paul Briers, a candidate preparing for ordination to the permanent diaconate, the journey has been anything but straightforward. Born in Liverpool but raised in Lytham St Anne’s, his early years were marked by family breakdown and loneliness. Yet, out of that difficult time, seeds of faith were planted.
“I was about nine or ten when, with some mates, I wandered into Our Lady Star of the Sea in St Anne’s-on-Sea,” Paul recalls. “It wasn’t mischief, just curiosity. But for me, a seed was planted. I found myself going back, first for morning prayer before school, then for Mass. Parishioners began to talk to me and welcome me and before long I spoke to the priest as I wanted to become Catholic.” I had not been baptised and did not come from a religious or practising family. The feeling I was being called, was very strong.
By the age of thirteen, Paul was baptised, confirmed, and received First Communion. He was soon serving at the altar. “The week after my baptism, I was an altar server. From then on, the liturgy became central to my life.” At one point, St Anne’s had 45 altar servers on the books. “It gave me a real sense of community and belonging,” Paul says.
At sixteen, Paul briefly considered the priesthood. Bishop Brewer advised him to “go and live life for a few years” before making such a commitment. Paul did exactly that. He met Liz, who later became his wife and they have two children, Joey (17) and Izzy (14). Paul pursued a varied career in management, but his involvement in parish life never faded.
When work brought the couple to Cumbria, Paul was delighted to find his new parish was also dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea. “Again, I felt it was Our Blessed Mother nudging me,” he says. It wasn’t long, in fact less than four weeks, before there was a knock at the door and there stood Fr Michael Phillips OSB, the local parish priest (PP). From day one I was back at the altar, helping to build up the serving team.
That work with servers never stopped. Paul has spent years training and encouraging altar servers locally and nationally. His dedication led to his appointment as National Honorary President of the Guild of St Stephen, with the bishop’s blessing, as this meant taking a couple years out from his studies. “Serving has always been central to my life,” he says. “Everything else is secondary.”
Alongside supportive clergy, one lay parishioner played a particularly important role in his journey. “I always call her ‘Mum,’ though she wasn’t my biological mother,” Paul fondly remembers. “Her name was Rose Moss, a parishioner at St Anne’s. With the family breakdown, we grew very close, sharing our faith, praying together and spending many happy times together. She always believed there was something di昀erent in me. She’d say, ‘You were quoting Psalms at ten years old — there’s something about you.’ She encouraged me all the way.”
The call to the diaconate came gradually. “I’ve never had a big metanoia moment,” Paul admits. “Instead, it’s been gentle promptings, not being fulfilled in what I am currently doing. The feeling there is more… parishioners saying things, priests calling me ‘a man of the Church.’ I’ve doubted it many times, but the call always comes back.”
Spiritually, Paul draws strength from three particular sources:
“The Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady, and Ignatian spirituality — seeing God in all things. At the same time, I have a traditional streak. I love the reverence of High Mass. But faith must also be lived, rooted in real life and real experience.”
As ordination approaches, Paul admits to some nerves and continuing doubts. But his outlook remains steady: “The Lord is extremely patient. My first thoughts of ministry were when I was sixteen. Now, in my forties, I can see God’s hand guiding me gently, all in His own time.
This article originally appeared in the November 2025 issue of the ‘Catholic Voice of Lancaster’, written by Andrew Wygladala.
