Members of the clergy and public will gather on Sunday for the installation of Bishop Gerard Nash as the Bishop of Ossory at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny.
The diocese comprises 42 parishes as well as 35 priests in active ministry. It includes six parishes in Laois, the majority of Kilkenny, and one parish in Offaly.
The Laois parishes in the Diocese of Ossory are Aghaboe, Borris-in-Ossory, Camross, Castletown, Durrow and Rathdowney.
The diocese has been without a bishop since its former Bishop Niall Coll was relocated to Donegal last year. Bishop Nash will be the fourth bishop in the diocese in the past decade,
Bishop Nash was appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Ossory by Pope Leo XIV on July 29 of this year.
An Apostolic Administrator is appointed to temporarily govern a diocese when warranted by special circumstances.
His installation this week marks the beginning of his reign as the diocese’s leader.
As Bishop Nash is already a bishop, he will be installed rather than ordained this Sunday.
He is also the Bishop of Ferns, meaning his installation will signify the unification of the Diocese of Ossory and the Diocese of Ferns “in persona episcopi”, which means in the person of the bishop.
Bishop Nash originally hails from County Clare. He was born in 1959 in the parish of Tulla.
He went on to study business after completing his Leaving Certificate and then worked in the manufacturing industry for a number of years.
Bishop Nash eventually chose to study for the priesthood with the Diocese of Killaloe in the national seminary of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
In 1991, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Michael Harty, Bishop of Killaloe, in Drumcharley Church, Tulla.
Before this latest appointment, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Nash as Bishop of Ferns in 2021.