The
Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois has a new bishop. News that Father Francis Duffy had been appointed to the role was revealed on Wednesday morning, July 17.
A Cavan
native who up to his appointment as bishop carried out his duties as a
priest in the Cavan parish of Laragh, 55 year old Fr Duffy will now take
over as bishop of the diocese that consists of part of Offaly, Cavan,
Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath as well as the greater part of Leitrim
and nearly all of Longford and has a Catholic population of over 70,000
spread across 41 parishes and 80 churches.
Introducing the bishop-elect on Wednesday morning outgoing bishop Colm O’Reilly said he hopes Fr Duffy will “feel immediately at home in our midst” and added that he will “certainly be warmly welcomed by priests, religious and lay people”.
For his part Fr Duffy said he is conscious he is following “a wise and compassionate pastor and a much-loved bishop” and said he hoped to “tap into his great wisdom and extensive knowledge gained over 30 years as bishop”.
Born in April 1958 in the parish of Templeport in Cavan to parents Mary Catherine Dolan and the late Frank Duffy, Fr Duffy is the oldest of four children. He attended primary school at Munlough NS, Bawnboy, and completed his secondary education at Saint Patrick’s College in Cavan.
Fr
Duffy studied for the priesthood at Saint Patrick’s College in Maynooth
and was ordained a priest for the diocese of Kilmore in June 1982 by
Bishop Francis MacKiernan. For eleven years Fr Duffy was on the teaching
staff of Stain Patrick’s College in Cavan, where he taught history,
religion and Irish.
In 1996 he was appointed principal of Fatima and Felim’s secondary school in Ballinamore, Leitrim. After twelve years there he was appointed diocesan secretary and chancellor, with additional responsibilities as financial administrator, communications officer and archivist.
Since 2009 Fr Duffy has been resident priest in the parish of Laragh in Cavan.
“Fr Francis has a wide range of experience in ministry, as teacher, secondary school principal and diocesan secretary,” Bishop O’Reilly said on Wednesday. “His current position in the parish of Laragh adds, at first hand, an understanding of ministry in the parish context. All this experience will stand him in good stead in his new ministry.”
Bishop
O’Reilly also made reference to the name the new bishop shares with the
pope. “After a time, in the celebration of Holy Mass throughout the
diocese we will get accustomed to praying for Francis, our Pope Francis,
our Bishop!,” he said. “May this coincidence of a name shared also be
symbolic of the sense of new beginning which is felt in the Church
worldwide and in a particularly joyful way in Ardagh and Clonmacnois.”
In his own address Fr Duffy said he accepted the Holy Father’s invitation as Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois after initially being shocked. “In doing so I am acutely conscious of my unworthiness and of my limitations; conscious too of the weight of the historical significance of this wonderful diocese and its contribution to the life of the Church in Ireland up to the present day, but I am confident in God’s grace and in the prayers and the support of the people with whom I will work,” he said.
“I come from the diocese of Kilmore, from the parish of Templeport in county Cavan,” he continued “Kilmore is just north of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, sharing a border in counties Cavan and Leitrim. The parishes of Ballymachugh, Gowna and Mullahoran are in Co. Cavan. So if I get homesick for Cavan I can always nip up there. Naturally I am sad at leaving my own diocese and the priests and people with whom I have worked for over 30 years, most recently in the parish of Laragh. However, I look forward to serving the people of God in the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois.”
Fr Duffy told those gathered of his belief that people are the life blood of every parish.
“There are many people engaged in running and administering various activities in their parishes,” he said. “Today I commit myself to serving and sharing in your enthusiasm and commitment to the life of the Church.”
Fr Duffy said he was also looking forward to joining the priests of his new diocese in order to listen, learn and be part of their mission in joyfully spreading the word of Jesus. “So this morning I offer a special word of greeting to the priests of Ardagh and Clonmacnois,” he said. “Religious women and men have a special place in the story of faith. Their prayer, their presence and their deep love of God are the hidden engines of the Spirit at work amongst us. I appreciate their valuable contribution to the life of the diocese and I look forward to working alongside them in our shared ministry.”