New bishop for Cork announced
John Buckley’s successor as the Bishop of Cork and Ross has been announced this morning with Father Fintan Gavin set to take over the reins.
His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Fr Fintan Gavin, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Dublin, as the new Bishop of Cork and Ross.
The news was announced at mass this morning in the Cathedral of Saint Mary & Saint Anne in Cork city with His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo; Bishop Emeritus of Cork & Ross, Bishop John Buckley and with priests of the diocese.
Bishop John Buckley was ordained Titular Bishop of Leptis Magna on 29 April 1984 and installed as Bishop of Cork and Ross on 6 February 1998.
The diocese includes Cork city and part of county Cork and its patron saints are Saint Finbarr and Saint Fachtna.
The former Bishop of Cork and Ross said: “I warmly welcome Monsignor Fintan Gavin as our new bishop and I am certain that the people of Cork will give him the traditional ‘céad míle fáilte’. It is a great honour for a Dublin man to be promoted to the real capital of Cork! You would know, Monsignor Fintan, that many Cork people have made their mark when they went to Dublin.
“I scarcely need to mention any of the people, but they would include people like Jack Lynch, affectionately known as the real Taoiseach here in Cork and who brought Ireland into the EU, a union which our neighbour is now seeking to leave in a disorderly way! Other Cork people who made it big in Dublin include Seán Ó Faoláin, one of Ireland’s greatest writers and, of course, our own Michael Collins.
“Perhaps now is a good time to begin reversing that trend and that Dublin people would make a contribution to Cork! We always think down here that there are only two categories of people in Ireland, Cork people and those who wish they were Cork people! You have now obtained your wish thanks to Pope Francis.”
Bishop Gavin said: "Setting out on this new ministry, I have a lot to learn from you the people, religious, deacons and priests of the Diocese of Cork and Ross. I look forward to listening to you and benefiting from your experience, from your wisdom and guidance. I look forward to working with other Christian church leaders to build on the work of dialogue and ecumenism already taking place."