The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland was rushed to hospital last night after becoming ill in front of a packed congregation during a confirmation service.

Cardinal Sean Brady (71), who has been under great stress recently over his mishandling of child sex abuse scandals, fell ill during the mass in the Church Of St Joseph in the Co Tyrone parish of Kildress at about 5.50pm yesterday.

It is understood the Cardinal became unwell and had to lie down at the front of the church.

A nurse who was in the congregation was called to the front to put the Cardinal in the recovery position until the ambulance arrived. The Cardinal was then taken to hospital in Craigavon.

Last night a spokesman for the Catholic Church described the Cardinal’s condition as comfortable.

“Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, became ill this evening while celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in the parish church of Kildress, Co Tyrone, in the Archdiocese of Armagh. Cardinal Brady was later admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital for observation. He is in a comfortable condition,” he said.

Kildress parish priest Fr Patrick Hughes, who was officiating at the service alongside the Archbishop, said parishioners had been “shocked” by what happened.

“There were 33 children being confirmed. The church was full. Cardinal Brady took ill and became weak during the confirmation ceremony,” he said.

“The act of confirmation was over and Holy Communion was about to take place.

“He indicated that he felt unwell and asked me and the MC to continue with taking the mass. He asked for a glass of water and sat down.

“His blood pressure had gone low and he felt weak.

“He remained conscious throughout.

“It was a shock but thank God he’s okay.”

Recently Cardinal Brady, who has been Primate of All Ireland since 1996, has faced the toughest few weeks of his career. He has faced repeated calls for his resignation after allegations emerged that he was present at meetings when two victims of clerical abuse were sworn to secrecy in 1975.

The children were told to sign vows of silence over complaints against the notorious paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth who went on to abuse dozens of children.

Cardinal Brady is being sued by one woman who claims to have been repeatedly raped by Smyth over a five year period.