Country’s first Jesuit bishop an expert in communications

The first ever Jesuit bishop to lead an Irish diocese will be ordained in the Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba in Letterkenny in the Diocese of Raphoe on 6 August, writes Sarah Mac Donald.

Pope Francis’ surprise choice of Fr Alan McGuckian SJ last Friday as a replacement for 77-year-old Bishop Philip Boyce was made despite the 64-year-old never having served as a curate or a parish priest.

Fr McGuckian, a native of Cloughmills, County Antrim, has two older brothers who are also Jesuit priests, Fr Barney McGuckian of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association and Fr Michael McGuckian.

“As a Jesuit I bring both strengths and weaknesses to this appointment. As is typical of most Jesuits I have never served as a curate in a parish,” Fr Alan said. “I will be relying on the priests and people of Raphoe to teach me how to be a truly pastoral bishop.”

Reacting to the news, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh paid tribute to the Jesuit’s “rich experiences and gifts” in education and communications as well as in pastoral planning and development with the office of the Living Church in the diocese of Down and Connor.

Fr McGuckian co-founded the hugely popular Sacred Space prayer website and co-founded the online faith resource www.catholicireland.net. He studied Irish and Philosophy at Queen’s University Belfast before joining the Jesuits and is a fluent Irish speaker. He also has degrees in Spanish, Latin and theology. The bishop-elect taught in the prestigious Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare, for six years and spent time on the missions in India. Following media training in the US, he acted as director of the Jesuit Communication Centre in Dublin for some years.