Pope surprises all with Killaloe bishop choice
NEWS that the Vatican had appointed African missionary priest Fr Kieran O'Reilly as the 58th Bishop of Killaloe had come as a surprise in the diocese.
And speaking at the ordination ceremony in the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul in Ennis on Sunday, Fr Tim Cullinane said the Society of African Missions which Bishop O'Reilly joined 40 years ago "were certainly surprised" as was "Fr Kieran himself" when Pope Benedict made the decision.
The Cork native has also become the first cleric from outside the diocese to be appointed bishop in 200 years.
Up to 1500 people attended the invite-only ceremony on Sunday, which was led by the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly Dermot Clifford. Also in attendance were Cardinal Sean Brady, retired Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh, Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe Trevor Williams and a number of bishops working in Africa. Representing civic society were cabinet ministers Tony Killeen and Micheal Martin, the aides-de-camp of the President and the Taoiseach, Timmy Dooley TD and local mayors.
Bishop O'Reilly's proud parents Sean and Theresa also got front-row seats for the ordination and brought his episcopal ring to the altar.
Ordained as an SMA priest in 1978, Bishop O'Reilly worked in Liberia for two years before furthering his studies in Rome. He taught in a seminary in Nigeria until 1989 and rose to become Superior General of the SMA in 1995, leading 1000 missionary priest in Africa.
Fr Cullinane, regional superior with the SMA in Southern Nigeria, admitted to feeling "a bit like the father of the bride" as "Fr Kieran has been a member of our family for nearly 40 years".
"Fr Kieran," he said, "is fortunate to be entering a diocese with this long tradition of faith and following a bishop, Bishop Willie Walsh, who has a special gift of showing forth the compassionate face of Christ to the poor and marginalised."
Bishop O'Reilly knew something of this work from his time in Africa and Fr Cullinane paid tribute to missionary priests from Clare who have worked and continue to work in Africa and South America. He remembered in particular the SMA priest from Newmarket-on-Fergus, Fr John Hannon who "made a difference to the lives of many people in Africa".
"With his passion for justice for the poor and marginalised, he certainly lived out the first reading of today and like Christ before him suffered the consequences by being brutally murdered in Nairobi in November 2004," Fr Cullinane said.
And there was an African flavour to the ordination ceremony as apart from the presence of senior African clergymen, members of Ennis' thriving African community sang and danced at the celebration. There was also traditional Irish music and dancers from the O’Rourke School.
Pontifical insignia given to the new bishop included a cross worn by Michael Peter McMahon, Bishop of Killaloe from 1765 to 1807 and the crozier of Bishop Michael Flannery dating from 1861.
The solemnity of the occasion was broken when Bishop O’Reilly noticed he had put his mitre on back to front.
The new bishop said he would work to bring young Catholics back to mass. The Church would, like Robert Frost, have to take the road less travelled in the times ahead, a road “without prestige and power, different from what we have known in the past”.
He also paid tribute to his predecessor Dr Willie Walsh, who had served the people of Clare so well since 1994.
“I know you are held in high esteem by the people of the Diocese and, indeed, well beyond the Diocese, not only for your public presence but also for your quiet ministry of kindness and compassion to so many people,” Bishop O’Reilly said.
“Your leadership and commitment to the development of the church in the Diocese, to ensure that it is alive and relevant to our times, through the reorganisation of pastoral areas of the Diocese, will be, I believe, your lasting and enduring legacy. I hope over the coming months and years to build on what is now in place and with the collaboration of all the faithful to ensure that the gifts and the talents, very often hidden, of the members of our communities are brought to the fore for the good of our faith communities.”
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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