New Bishop of Paisley is youngest in Britain

Pope Francis has appointed a 49-year-old university chaplain and vocations director as the new Bishop of Paisley, writes Brian Morton.

Fr John Keenan succeeds the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, who led the Diocese of Paisley until September 2012. Fr Keenan will become the youngest bishop in Britain when he is ordained on 19 March. He has been a parish priest, vocations director of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and chaplain to the city’s university.

Fr Keenan said: “This is an exciting time in the Church under Pope Francis’ lively ­leadership and I hope to put as much of his vision into my own personal life and ministry as I can.”
The Diocese of Paisley, situated to the west of Glasgow, was established in 1947. It is one of the smallest in geographical terms but serves an eighth of the Catholic population in Scotland.

Fr Keenan’s appointment is the third by Pope Francis in Scotland to one of the ­country’s eight dioceses. His appointment leaves just two Scottish dioceses in need of new bishops while five of the 22 sees in England and Wales need new episcopal leadership.