Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory

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Diocese of Ossory

Dioecesis Ossoriensis

Deoise Osraí
1111
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny
Patron saintSt Kieran
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopNiall Coll
Bishop of Ossory
Metropolitan ArchbishopDermot Farrell
Archbishop of Dublin
Map
Website
ossory.ie
Church of Saint John the Evangelist in 2018
St. Canice's Church in 2018

The Diocese of Ossory (

ordained bishop
on 22 January 2023.

The Cathedral church is St. Mary of the Assumption, in Kilkenny.

Geographic remit

The see is bounded to the south by the River Suir, to the east by the River Barrow, to the north by County Laois (formerly "Queen's County") and to the west by counties Tipperary and Offaly (formerly "King's County"). It has an area of 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) and contains the city of Kilkenny.

At the

Seir-Kieran (Saighir, Offaly) to Aghaboe. At the end of the 12th century it was further transferred to Kilkenny
. It is probable that St. Canice founded a monastery at Kilkenny and not unlikely that the beginnings of a town soon appeared there, to become more important when the bishops changed from Aghaboe.

History

The

Danish wars
.

Ossory had been

Slieve Bloom
, the bell at length sounded; and here St. Ciarán established the monastery of Seir-Kieran (now Saighir, Offaly), the centre from which Ossory was evangelized. St. Patrick also visited Ossory and preached and founded churches there. There is some difficulty in accepting the story of St. Ciarán having preached before St. Patrick, since the former is said to have flourished in the 6th century. It is, however, certain that St. Ciarán laboured in Ossory.

In the centuries following, the kingdom was ruled from Seir-Kieran by the abbots. They had other monasteries subject to them, and probably other bishops, and perhaps were not always bishops themselves, though at Seir-Kieran, as at Iona, there was always a bishop. Their jurisdiction was tribal rather than territorial, and hence the diocese was enlarged or contracted as the fortunes of the Ossory chieftains rose or fell.

In the reign of Bishop

treasurer of Ireland, while another, Richard Northalis (1387–95), acted as King Richard II of England
's ambassador abroad.

At the

Elizabeth I of England
, the see was vacant for seventeen years.

From 1602 to 1618 Ossory was again without a bishop. When Dr.

Canons Regular of St. Augustine
had completely disappeared.

In the

Archbishop of Dublin. He praised King George III, and maintained friendships with the viceroy and with Henry Luttrell, son of Lord Carhampton. He was among the first of the Irish bishops to take advantage of the relaxation of the penal laws and set up a college for his diocese by the purchase of Burrell's Hall, Kilkenny
.

In 1836 the

Cathedral of St. Mary
in 1843, though the exterior was not finished until 1857, nor solemnly consecrated until 1899.

ecclesiastical history at Maynooth
; Dr. O'Hanlon, theological professor in the same college; Dr. MacDonald, his successor; and Dr. Carrigan, whose 'History of Ossory' is the most complete history of any Irish diocese.

In 1910, the diocese contained: 41 parishes with 36 parish priests; 5 administrators; 58 curates; 11 regulars (a total of 119 priests); 96 churches; 1 college; 4 houses of regulars; 15 convents; 4 houses of Christian Brothers. In 1901 the Catholic population was 83,519, the non-Catholic, 6,029.

In 1994 after 212 years as a seminary, the diocesean college St. Kieran's ceased to be a seminary.

Adult Faith Development Group

The Adult faith development group is based in St. Kieran's. In 2021, the group in collaboration with the St. Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth, launched Aspal, a digital platform for faith formation[4] It is supported by the Benefact Trust, and provides a number of free and paid courses online and via a mobile phone app.[5] Aimed at both groups and individuals Aspal provides courses in Parish Administration, Ministers of the Word and Eucharist, and pathways to ministry.

Episcopal ordinaries

Main article: Bishop of Ossory

The following is a basic list of the bishops of Ossory since 1829.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Diocese of Ossory. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. ^ Archdiocese of Dublin. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. ^ established
  4. ^ Aspal Official Site.
  5. ^ New Lay Ministry online platform across Ireland - An age-old faith meets modern technology, Benefact Trust, April 22, 2022.

Sources and external links

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Ossory". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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