In a historic move, Archbishop Francis Duffy is to be formally installed as Bishop of Killala at a ceremony in St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina this Sunday.
Archbishop Duffy will become the first clergyman to head both Killala and Tuam dioceses – an area covering over 9,000 square kilometres - when he takes up his new role.
His appointment will see Killala will share a bishop with Tuam for the first time since the dioceses were formally established in 1111 by the Synod of Ráth Breasail.
Archbishop Duffy has served as Apostolic Administrator of Killala since April 10, 2024, after Bishop John Fleming retired after twenty-two years of service.
The installation Mass takes place on Sunday, April 26, at 3pm and is expected to draw hundreds of people.
Bishop Fleming will concelebrate the ceremony alongside Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh; Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland; and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Metropolitan Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Members of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, clergy from the Killala and Tuam dioceses, family and friends of Archbishop Duffy, and representatives of other Christian denominations will attend.
Civic leaders, public representatives, teachers, students and lay delegates from across the diocese will also be present. Music will be provided by the St Muredach’s Cathedral choir.
Lay representatives from across the diocese, as well as teachers and students from local schools, will also make up the congregation, along with representatives of other Christian denominations, civic leaders and local and national public representatives.
The Mass will be livestreamed on churchtv.ie/ballina.
Archbishop Duffy’s installation comes as part of the consolidation of several dioceses around Ireland.
This process will see dioceses like Tuam and Killala joined together for administrative purposes but retaining distinct identities.
A native of Bawnboy, County Cavan, Archbishop Duffy has served as Archbishop of Tuam since January 2022, following the retirement of Mayo native Archbishop Emeritus Michael Neary.
Ordained for the Diocese of Kilmore on 20 June 1982, Archbishop Duffy taught for eleven years at Saint Patrick’s College before beginning post-graduate studies at Maynooth College and Trinity College, Dublin.
In 1996, he was appointed Principal of Fatima and Felim’s Secondary School in Ballinamore, County Leitrim. He spent the next four years as Diocesan Secretary and Chancellor of the Diocese of Kilmore.
During that time, he was also priest in residence as assistant curate in Clifferna, Parish of Laragh, County Cavan.
He served as the Bishop of Ardagh from October 2013 before being appointed Archbishop of Tuam by Pope Francis I in October 2021.
The Tuam district is the largest archdiocesan district in Ireland, spanning 5,680 square kilometres and covering half of County Mayo, half of County Galway and part of west Roscommon.
The Killala diocese spans 3,750 square kilometres across north Mayo and west Sligo, containing 22 parishes and 48 churches.
The dioceses of Achonry and Elphin, which cover large areas of Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim, are also being headed by one bishop, Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran.