Speculation was rife that Canon Crean, 61, would be assigned to Killarney, where a replacement is awaited for the long-serving Bishop Bill Murphy, who announced his intention to retire, on reaching the age of 75, in June last year.
It is was a badly kept secret in local presbyteries and parish halls that the Cahirciveen parish priest was the man the majority of Kerry clergy expected to be chosen to lead them and, in that respect, the delight that greeted news of his promotion was tinged with a degree of regret that he will be lost to his native county.
Bishop Murphy, a long- time friend of Canon Crean, summed up the general local consensus yesterday when he declared: "Kerry’s loss is Cloyne’s gain."
He said the people of Cork could look forward to welcoming "an exemplary pastor" who had made a success of every responsibility he had been given in Kerry.
"Canon Crean is an outstanding priest and is much loved by the vibrant faith community of the parish," Bishop Murphy stated.
Parishioners at O’Connell Memorial Church in Cahirciveen yesterday, where Canon Crean celebrated Mass at noon, were coming to terms with the prospect of losing the affable and soft-spoken cleric, known simply as Canon Billy.
A native of Tralee, the bishop-elect comes from a large family and his brother Tom is parish priest in Kenmare.
He attended St Brendan’s College, Killarney and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth before being ordained in 1976.
He continued his studies in Rome before returning to the Diocese of Kerry, where he served as curate in Glenbeigh, Killorglin and Tarbert before following in Bishop Murphy’s footsteps when he was appointed director of the John Paul II Pastoral Centre in Killarney.
Canon Crean was a founder-director of Radio Kerry in 1990 and continued to serve on the board of the station, in which the Diocese of Kerry has a significant share-holding.
He went on to become diocesan advisor to post primary schools and director of adult religious education in the Kerry diocese before furthering his studies in Dundalk and at the Weston School in Boston.
He was later appointed parish priest in Castlegregory, before transferring to Cahirciveen in 2006.