born cleric . Bishop John Fleming (61) is the head of the country's smallest diocese of Killala in the West of Ireland.
Shortly before becoming Bishop of Killala in February 2002, Dr Fleming attended Pierce Brosnan's wedding to Keely Shaye-Smith at the 800-year-old Ballintubber Abbey, near Castlebar, Co Mayo.
The churchman and the film-star met 10 years ago when Dr Fleming was rector of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome and the Navan-born actor visited the college during the filming of 'The World is not Enough'. They became good friends.
Born on February 16, 1948, in Ardpatrick, Co Limerick, Bishop Fleming was educated at Saint Munchin's Diocesan College, Limerick, and Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he obtained a Baccalaureate in Divinity in 1971.
Ordained a priest for the diocese of Limerick in 1972 his first appointment was as curate in Saint Michael's Parish, Limerick city, from 1972 to 1974.
He served at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome as director of studies and later became vice rector under then Monsignor Sean Brady and was made a Prelate of Honour with the rank of Monsignor in 1993 by Pope John Paul II.
In 2005 he hit the national headlines as President of CURA, the Catholic Church's pregnancy advisory agency, over a controversial 'Positive Options' leaflet published by the State's Crisis Pregnancy Agency.
This dispute was resolved earlier this year with the reinstatement of three Donegal volunteers dismissed by CURA for refusing to distribute the leaflets which they considered facilitated women with addresses of agencies outside Ireland to have abortions.
Inside the hierarchy he is close to Cardinal Brady. He is a member of the Bishops' Conference Department of Pastoral Care, its Department of Planning and Communications, and is chairman of the Bishops' Finance and General Purposes Committee.
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