- Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns
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Diocese of Ferns
Dioecesis Fernensis
St. Aidan’s Cathedral, EnniscorthyLocation Country Republic of Ireland Territory Most of County Wexford and parts of County Wicklow Ecclesiastical province Province of Dublin Statistics Area 1,158 sq mi (3,000 km2) Population
- Catholics
101,244Information Denomination Roman Catholic Rite Latin Rite Cathedral St Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy Patron saint St Aidan Current leadership Pope Pope Benedict XVI Bishop Denis Brennan,
Bishop of FernsMetropolitan Archbishop Diarmuid Martin,
Archbishop of DublinEmeritus Bishops Brendan Oliver Comiskey,
Bishop Emeritus of FernsMap 
The Diocese of Ferns, shown in gold,
within the Province of DublinWebsite ferns.ie The Diocese of Ferns (Irish: Deoise Fhearna) is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin.[1][2][3] The incumbent Ordinary is Denis Brennan.
Contents
Geographical remit
The See covers most of County Wexford and some of County Carlow and County Wicklow. It is a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
History
W. H. Grattan Flood, author of the History of the Diocese of Ferns,[4] illustrates the origin of the Diocese, by stating:
“ It is a far cry back to the year 598, when the See of Ferns was established, with St. Aedan (Mo-Aedh-og or Mogue) as first Bishop. During his episcopate thirty churches and numerous monasteries were founded. St. Ibar, St. Abban, St. Brendan, and St. Senan were also early labourers in the diocese. St. Aedan died on January 31st, 630, leaving a fragrant memory behind him, and his episcopal See was known as Fearna-mor-Moedhoc." [5] ” Parishes
Ordinaries
Main article: Bishop of FernsThe following is a list of the most recent post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops and vicars apostolic.[6][7]
- Thomas Furlong (1857–1875)
- Michael Warren (1876–1884)
- James Browne (1884–1917)
- William Codd (1917–1938)
- James Staunton (1938–1963)
- Donald J. Herlihy (1964–1983)
- Brendan Oliver Comiskey, SS.CC. (1984–2002)
- Denis Brennan (2006–present)
Sex abuse controversy
The October 2005 Report of the Ferns Inquiry has outlined the serious levels of clerical sex abuse in the diocese since the 1960s. It strongly criticised the former bishops of Ferns, Donal Herlihy and Brendan Comiskey for their inability to deal with the allegations of sexual abuse made against a number of priests. Brendan Comiskey resigned as Bishop on 1 April 2002.
References
- ^ Diocese of Ferns. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Archdiocese of Dublin. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Diocese of Ferns - Catholic Encyclopedia article. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Grattan Flood, History, title page.
- ^ Grattan Flood, History, p. ix.
- ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 428–429. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
- ^ Diocese of Ferns. Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved on 7 September 2009.
Sources
- Grattan Flood, W.H. History of the Diocese of Ferns. Waterford: Downey & Co., 1916.
External links
- Ferns.ie - Official site
- Diocese of Ferns (Giga-Catholic Information)
- Catholic-Hierarchy.org - Diocese Profile
"Ferns". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland Province of Armagh Province of Cashel Province of Dublin Province of Tuam Categories:- Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns
- Religion in County Wexford
- Enniscorthy
- Dioceses established in the 6th century
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