Bishop Kieran O'Reilly of Killaloe appointed as new Archbishop of Cashel & Emly

The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly is the metropolitan diocese (head of the ecclesiastical province) for the diocese of Limerick and readers may remember that Archbishop Dermot Clifford was the principal consecrator at the ordination Mass for Bishop Brendan Leahy in April 2013.

We congratulate Bishop Kieran O'Reilly SMA on his appointment as the new archbishop and wish Archbishop Emeritus Clifford the very best for his retirement after 30 years as bishop. 

As a new archbishop we note that there will at least one Irish archbishop to have the pallium bestowed by Pope Francis on feast of St Peter & Paul in June 2015. As one of the four Irish archbishops Bishop Kieran will be one of the trustees of the Pontifical College in Maynooth, one of the trustees for the Irish College in Rome, trustee of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick and St Patrick's College in Thurles. Traditionally the archbishop of Cashel & Emly is also one of the patrons of the GAA following on from Archbishop Thomas Croke who helped in the establishment of the GAA.
 
Information from Irish Bishops Conference below:
 

Pope Francis and Archbishop Dermot Clifford

His Holiness Pope Francis has accepted the resignation, on the ground of age, of Archbishop Dermot Clifford as Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, and has appointed Bishop Kieran O’Reilly SMA as Archbishop of Cashel & Emly. This announcement was made today in the Vatican at 12.00pm local time (11.00am Irish time). Please see below an overview of the life and ministry of Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly.

 
 
Life and Ministry
 


Bishop Kieran O'Reilly SMA

On 16 May 2010 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI announced Father Kieran O’Reilly SMA as Bishop of Killaloe to succeed Bishop William Walsh who had retired on completing his seventy-fifth year in accordance with canon 401.1 of the Code of Canon Law. 

Bishop O’Reilly was born in Cork on 8 August 1952 to Seán and Theresa O’Reilly. Educated at Scoil Chríost Rí and Coláiste Chríost Rí, he entered the Society of African Missions in Wilton, Cork in 1970. Bishop O’Reilly was ordained for the Society on 17 June 1978. He served in Liberia for two years in the Archdiocese of Monrovia before studying for a licentiate in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. From 1984 to 1989 he lectured in Scripture at the Major Seminary of Saints Peter and Paul, in Ibadan, Nigeria. From 1989 – 2010 he served on the Irish and International Councils of the Society of African Missions. 

In May 2010 he was appointed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as Bishop of Killaloe.
 
At the time of the announcement of his appointment as the next Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, to succeed Archbishop Dermot Clifford, Bishop Kieran was serving as Bishop of the Diocese of Killaloe. He also serves as the Episcopal Secretary to the Irish Episcopal Conference.

Report from Vatican Radio HERE.

You can find the various statements being made on the Facebook page of the Irish Episcopal Conference.