Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Dermot Farrell of Ossory as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s successor in the archdiocese of Dublin, the largest of the Irish Church’s 26 dioceses.
The announcement was made by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Okolo, on Tuesday morning at Our Lady of Lourdes parish on Dublin’s Sean McDermott Street, the only parish in Ireland visited by Pope Francis in 2018.
An established member of the Irish hierarchy, Archbishop-elect Farrell is a former president of the national seminary in Maynooth.
In his address, the incoming Archbishop of Dublin indicated a number of key areas for his stewardship including church renewal, the environment, women and safeguarding.
The Archdiocese of Dublin was the subject of a major state investigation into the mishandling of allegations of clerical sexual abuse, the findings of which were published in the Murphy Report in 2009.
“A Church which is safe for all who are vulnerable, be they young or not so young, can only exist where there is a commitment to truth, genuine transparency and enduring care for the victims,” the new Archbishop-elect said.
He paid tribute to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin who, he said, accepted the leadership of the diocese at a challenging time in 2003 and had “provided forceful and unambiguous leadership, especially in safeguarding children where he took courageous positions.”
Bishop Farrell stressed that constant vigilance is needed “as complacency is the greatest enemy”.
Elsewhere in his address, he acknowledged that there are many neglected voices that need to be heard, “particularly the voices of women, the voices of those on the margins, and of those invisible in the busyness of day-to-day life” he said.
Bishop Farrell (66) is a native of Castletown-Geoghegan, Co Westmeath. A former president of the national seminary in Maynooth, he has a range of experience in the areas of administration, pastoral ministry and seminary formation. He was elected Finance Secretary of the Irish Bishops’ Conference in March 2019.
Ordained in 1980, the incoming leader of Dublin diocese has a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and served for a time as director of formation in the Irish College in Rome before he returned to Maynooth to lecture in moral theology. He served as a curate in Tullamore parish while lecturing in Maynooth and was later appointed President of St Patrick’s College in 1996. He retired from this position in 2007.
The Archbishop-elect told The Tablet that his intention was to visit as many parishes and faith communities as he could in order to get to know his flock and listen to them. But this would only be possible as the Covid vaccine became more widely available. He said had no immediate plans for significant changes as he needed time to get to know the structures of the diocesan office first.
Offering congratulations to Archbishop-elect Dermot Farrell, Archbishop Eamon Martin, President of the Irish Bishops’ Conference described the new leader of Dublin diocese as, “a hardworking and personable colleague with many skills and qualities to bring to his new ministry as Archbishop of Dublin”. He said he brings a grounded spirituality, solid teaching and communication skills to his ministry.
He also paid tribute to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on his retirement. The Primate of All Ireland said he had brought “courageous leadership skills” to his role as chief pastor of the largest diocese and had from the outset faced “robustly” the need to manage a change of culture in the Church in Ireland, particularly in the important area of child safeguarding.
“In this he led by example, confronting the past, engaging in regular outreach to survivors and their families, and modelling best practice in transparency and accountability - thereby setting the template for other Church leaders both here, and across the world.”
Archbishop Martin brought to the Church in Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh said, a wealth of insight and experience from his involvement on the international stage. This included his significant previous tenure as Secretary of the Vatican’s Council for Justice and Peace where he worked to help tackle global social injustice by representing the Holy See at plenary United Nations conferences.
During Archbishop Martin’s time as Vice-President of the Bishops’ Conference he was a key representative at Church-State structured dialogue meetings in the Republic of Ireland.
He also noted that Archbishop Martin was largely personally responsible for two of most significant global Church events in recent years: the International Eucharistic Congress in 2012 and the World Meeting of Families in 2018, which included the visit of Pope Francis.
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough, Archbishop Michael Jackson, in a statement said, “From the day I arrived here as Archbishop of Dublin, I felt welcomed by Archbishop Martin to a city which is his own.”
He described Archbishop Martin as “a confident and compassionate exponent of the Gospel” and said he had “helped to develop the ecumenical landscape of the diocese” through joint events such as the annual Good Friday Walk of Witness and Ecumenical Bible Week.
The Archdiocese of Dublin has 198 parishes located across Dublin city as well as in rural settings in the region of Leinster.
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