Roman Catholic Diocese of Elphin

For other uses, see Elphin.

Diocese of Elphin Dioecesis Elphinensis
Location
Country	Ireland
Territory	Parts of counties Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath and Galway
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Tuam
Statistics
Area	1,201 sq mi (3,110 km2)
Population - Catholics	70,000
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	Diocese in 1111
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo
Patron saint	St Ascius and the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Pope Benedict XVI
Bishop	Christopher Jones Bishop of Elphin
Metropolitan Archbishop	Michael Neary Archbishop of Tuam
Map
The Diocese of Elphin, shown in green, within the Province of Tuam
Website
elphindiocese.ie

The Diocese of Elphin (Irish: Deoise Ail Finn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the western part of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The current Bishop is Dr. Christopher Jones DD who was appointed in 1994.

Geographical remit

The diocese covers parts of the counties of Roscommon, Sligo and Galway, in Connaught. Its Cathedral, which was originally established in the County Roscommon town of Elphin, is now in Sligo.

History of the Diocese

The See dates to the earliest days of the Irish Church. From the time Christianity first arrived in Ireland in the second half of the 5th century (in the form of Saint Patrick's mission), the early church was centred around Monastic settlements. St. Patrick founded such a settlement in an area known as Corcoghlan, now known as Elphin, in 434 or 435. The first Abbot bishop of this monastic settlement was Assicus, who was said to be St. Patrick's silversmith or coppersmith. Saint Assicus is now the patron of the diocese. Following the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111 the diocese was formally recognised.^{[1] [2]}. The Cathedral established here was dedicated to Beatae Mariae Virgini (Blessed Mary the Virgin).

Following the English Reformation of the 16th century, the Cathedral and many monasteries and convents were destroyed. It wasn't until 1874 that the then bishop, Laurence Gillooly, decided to rebuild the Cathedral, this time in Sligo town. This Cathedral was dedicated to The Immaculate Conception. Just under 20 years later, in 1892, Bishop Gillooly supervised the building of a College dedicated to training boys for the priesthood, known as the College of the Immaculate Conception. This school still operates today, as Summerhill College.

Diocesesan governance

There are currently thirty-seven parishes in the Diocese, which are divided into 6 administrative deaneries, based in the towns of Sligo, Boyle, Strokestown, Castlerea, Roscommon and the part of Athlone west of the River Shannon. There are currently 108 priests, ministering to a population of approximately 70,000, of whom 97% (68,000) are Roman Catholic. ^{[1] [3]}

Ordinaries

Main article: Bishop of Elphin

The following is a basic list of the bishops and vicars apostolic appointed with papal approval subsequent to the English Reformation.^[4]

William Magennis (1539) Gabriel de S. Serio, O.S.B. (1539–1541) Bernard O'Donnell, O.F.M. (1541–1542) Bernard O'Higgins, O.E.S.A. (1542–1561) Andrew O'Crean, O.P. (1562–1594) Sede vacante (1594–1620) (Nicholas a S. Patritio, O.E.S.A., vicar apostolic, apptd. 1620) Raymund Galvin (1625) Boetius Egan, O.F.M. (1625–1650) Sede vacante (1650–1671) Dominic de Burgo, O.P. (1671–1701) Sede vacante (1701–1707) Ambrose MacDermott, O.P. (1707–1717) Gabriel O'Kelly (1718–1731) Patrick French, O.F.M. (1731–1748)

John Brett, O.P. (1748–1756) James O'Fallon (1756–1786) Edward French (1787–1810) Sede vacante (1810–1814) George Thomas Plunket (1814–1827) Patrick Burke (1827–1843) George Joseph Plunket Browne (1844–1858) Laurence Gillooly C.M. (1858–1895) John Joseph Clancy (1895–1912) Bernard Coyne (1913–1926) Edward Doorly (1926–1950) Vincent Hanly (1950–1970) Dominic Joseph Conway (1971–1994) Christopher Jones (1994–present)

See also

• Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh (Church of Ireland)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "History of Elphin". Diocese of Elphin website. http://www.elphindiocese.ie/history.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-01. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Kelly, J.J. (1909). "Elphin". The Catholic Encyclopedia. V. Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05394b.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
3. ^ Cheney, David M. (2007-02-03). "Elphin (Diocese) [Catholic Hierarchy]". Catholic Hierarchy. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/delph.html. Retrieved 2007-04-03. "Source Annuario Pontificio, 2005" 
4. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 427–428. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 

External links

• ElphinDiocese.ie - Official site
• Diocese of Elphin Giga-Catholic Information
• Catholic-Hierarchy.org - Diocese Profile
• Profile from NewAdvent.org - info from Catholic Encyclopedia

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.