Words of the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Bishop Paul Connell
As we come towards the end of this ceremony it is my very pleasant task
to express my deep appreciation to all of you who are present here and
also to those who join us by webcam. A special welcome to those joining
us from abroad, and in particular those of you in the United States,
especially in All Saints and Saint Gabriel’s in Florida, and Saint
Gregory’s in San Diego.
I want to begin by thanking the new Papal Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor for his presence here today. We warmly welcome him and wish him well as he takes up his new position here in Ireland as the personal representative of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. I welcome and thank Monsignor Julien Kabore, from the Nunciature in Dublin, who broke the news of my appointment to me so gently. I want to thank sincerely Archbishop Eamon Martin for being principal consecrator and also the two co-consecrators Archbishop Francis Duffy, the former bishop of this diocese, and the bishop of Meath, Tom Deenihan. I am also very grateful for the presence and support of all the bishops who have come here today and that of my two chaplains, my good friends Monsignor Joseph McGuinness and Father Joseph Gallagher. My grateful thanks to Father Michael McGrath for his eloquent and insightful homily today. I extend a very warm welcome and thanks to the Church of Ireland bishop, Ferran Glenfield, and to the representatives of other Christian traditions, for their presence with us and for their prayers and good wishes.
I know that everyone here was welcomed at the beginning of our ceremony and I thank you all for your very supportive presence. To the people of the diocese I want to express my deep gratitude for the very warm welcome that you have given me, and I am looking forward to meeting and working with you across the diocese in the coming years.
This ceremony and indeed the hospitality that will follow would not have been possible without the superb organisation that has been put into place by a very large network of volunteers. I am very grateful to every single one of you. Thank you so much to those who assisted in any way with parking, stewarding, catering and printing. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Fintan Farrelly, the Cathedral choir and soloists for the wonderful music that adorned our liturgy today and lifted up our hearts and spirits. I also deeply appreciate the work of planning and preparation done by Father Turlough Baxter, Master of Ceremonies, and his assistants, and by Father James Mc Kiernan, the priests of the Cathedral and their parish team. I would like to thank the Board of Management of Saint Mel’s College, and the principal, Mr Malachy Flanagan and his staff ,for their hospitality and vital contribution to today’s ceremony.
I know that all you from the diocese would particularly want me to thank on your behalf Archbishop Francis Duffy for his ten years ministering among you as your bishop. There was very genuine regret and sorrow when the news came that he was moving to Tuam as its new archbishop. That says a great deal about his commitment and energy and the very pastoral style of his leadership here among you. Thank you Archbishop Francis.
Of course as we stand in this beautiful Cathedral, reborn from the ashes we are all immensely grateful to the team of people responsible for its restoration. Which of us though can forget seeing Bishop Colm O’ Reilly on the television news on Christmas Day 2009 assuring the people of the diocese, that despite the daunting prospect that was ahead, their Cathedral would be rebuilt. And indeed it was, as we all witness today. As important as that was, it was just one achievement of many during the ministry of Bishop Colm in this diocese for thirty years. I am acutely aware of how he is held in the highest esteem and affection by the people of the diocese. We are all delighted to see him here today and I hope to benefit from his invaluable insight and advice for many years to come.
Father Tom Healy tells me he is a very happy man today! I know he is looking forward to a quieter life, for the moment anyway. We all know of the vital role he played in co-ordinating the restoration of this cathedral. But we must also thank him most sincerely for the manner in which he has led the diocese as its administrator since the departure of Archbishop Duffy. He has not spared his talents or his time in the role and I know that his work has been deeply appreciated by all of you here in the diocese. Thank you Father Tom.
We believe that God calls each of us but He does not provide us with an outline of our lives, an outline of what will happen to us. We do not know as we go through life what faces us, what manner of life we will have, what joys or sorrows, what crosses and pain may come our way. We cannot predict our tomorrow. We all have to make that leap of faith and trust in God that He loves and cares for each one of us and that he knows what is best for us.
There are moments in all of our lives when everything suddenly changes. Sometimes we can plan for that moment but at other times it comes as a bolt from the blue. My appointment by Pope Francis as bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois was such a moment. It was for me completely unexpected. And I was faced with a decision that to say the least was not easy. I knew that saying yes, as I did, would change everything. But I did so because in the end I believe that what makes my life authentic is that I continue to have that same faith and trust in God that set me out on the path of priesthood all those years ago. And while I have met difficulties and challenges along the way, and while I have also a much better appreciation of how weak a vessel of clay I am, I can honestly say I have never had any regrets about my decision to say yes to priesthood.
Placing our faith and trust in God involves above all listening to what he is asking of us. We do this by listening to his Word but also by listening to the Church as well as the world around us. One way in particular that He does speak to us, is in and through the people that surround us, our families, neighbours, friends, acquaintances, those whom we live with, meet with and work with. The synodal process inaugurated by Pope Francis gives us an opportunity to become a listening Church. In his words, it enables us to “break out of our routine in order to stop and listen, firstly to the Spirit in adoration and prayer, and then to our brothers and sisters, their hopes, the crisis of faith around the world, the need for renewed pastoral life”.
Today we have listened to the words of the gospel: “the harvest is rich but the labourers are few”. What are they saying to us? We know the harvest is rich but certainly at this time very difficult. As a Church we live in interesting times, facing many challenges. Our society is in danger of losing the sense of the sacred, above all the truth that we come from God, and that some day we will return to God. Its moral compass is imperilled with an increasing stress on the rights of the individual to the detriment of society as a whole. Faith and practice too are affected when people lose touch with community worship.
And so, as we look around we see difficulties for the Church on all sides. The temptation to despair is great. But none of this is new. Sixty years ago, when Pope Paul VI opened the second session of the Second Vatican Council on 29 September 1963, he spoke about the Church building a bridge to the contemporary world. He confessed he was tempted to be frightened and saddened, to condemn and defend in the face of the Iron Curtain of Communism, the spread of atheism, the emptiness and despair in so many human hearts. He refused to despair however. ‘Not now’ he said, while love was flooding the heart of the Church, the servant of mankind. And so we too must have courage. Because in the midst of our difficulty, God is speaking to us.
“The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.” For too long we have seen the labourers as priests and religious. Yes, we need priests and religious and we need now more than ever to pray for vocations and encourage people, young and older, to accept the invitation that Christ is extending to them. I want to acknowledge on your behalf the incredible commitment and service of our priests. This diocese has been so blessed with their ministry. We are however an ageing priesthood and the model of Church we have been living with will not survive what is happening now. And so, we, together, as a listening Church, must try to understand and discern that somehow in the midst of this necessary change, that God is speaking to us.
How shall we change our world? We shall not. God will do it or it will not happen. But He will not do it without us. Through men and women whose dynamism for change is not theirs alone but the power and work of God. God has chosen each of us, He is the source of our life in Christ Jesus. In this time of change we, the laity and clergy of this diocese, guided by the Spirit of holiness, openness and truth, have to discern the future direction of our Church. This is our responsibility as disciples of Christ, listening to each other and also those beyond our comfort zone.
Archbishop Dermot Farrell in a recent homily on the feast of Saint Kevin quoted the words of welcome of Cardinal Aveline of Marseilles for the new Archbishop of Lille.
The Cardinal said: ‘The mission of the Church is not to be a religion which succeeds according to the world’s criteria for success – those of control and efficiency. No! The mission of the Church is humbly to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in order to be at the service of that love with which God loves the world. Without counting the cost, give of yourself to this people who await you, this people whom God has entrusted to you, and to whom you have been entrusted by God. I pray that together you may live the wonderful adventure of being disciples of Christ, the wonderful adventure of the mission of the Church. (Installation Bishop Laurent Le Boul’ch as Archbishop of Lille. May 20, 2023).’
As you can imagine, these words have particular resonance for me today. I can only hope that with God’s help, I can repay the trust that all of you are placing in me. Please continue to pray for me, as I will pray every day for you, the people, priests and religious of the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois. Together, may we share what Cardinal Aveline describes as the wonderful adventure of being disciples of Christ, the wonderful adventure of the mission of the Church.
May God bless us all.