Love bought Rev Bill and Eleanor to the Port of Pollensa
Rev Bill Boyce is the vicar of St Andrews Church in the Port of Pollensa. He moved from Northern Ireland to take up this post with Eleanor his wife.
These two have a great story of how they met, and it was the first step on the road to the life they have now embraced in Mallorca. Bill was a widower and the Rector of St Brigid’s, Mallusk in Northern Ireland. He had a life in Civil Engineering before he trained to be a Vicar in the Church of Ireland. He loved his busy life in Mallusk and the congregation. ‘It was the hardest thing to tell the parishioners I was leaving’ he says. ‘After 14 years our community was so connected and like family’.
Meanwhile, not very far away in Whiteabbey, Eleanor had her busy church life and career. As the first Organ Transplant Co-ordinator of Northern Ireland, she had a high-profile appointment which was all consuming. She found time for church and was a Youth leader and musical accompaniment to many of the activities.
The dating agency ‘Christian Connections’ was their point of contact. A few introductory emails, a meeting and then a beautiful future grew very quickly. They married nine months later, in 2011.
A holiday in the Port of Pollensa opened Bill’s eyes to the island. As a keen cyclist he loved all the opportunities available to him to enjoy his sport. Eleanor introduced him to the church friends she had made in St Andrews, Port of Pollensa and they became regular attendees when they were on the island. They felt so at home here they bought a holiday home in the Port and travelled to the island as often as work allowed.
Bill and Eleanor learned of the departure of the Vicar of the Port of Pollensa for a group of parishes on mainland Spain. At the time they were very interested in applying for the post. But so many things were in the way, from work, local connections, and their Northern Irish life. But one by one all their obstacles seem to fade away and the path became clear for them to apply for the part time position as the Vicar of St Andrews.
They are now full time Humans of Mallorca, loving the island, its people, and their work.
