The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin is the
ordinary of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the A ...
, one of the suffragan dioceses of the
Archdiocese of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...
. The
episcopal title takes its name from the towns of
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...
and
Old Leighlin
Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
The
Episcopal see
An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
in the town of
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
where the bishop's seat (
Cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...
) is located at the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Between 1678 and 1694, the
bishops of Kildare
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
also administered the
See of Leighlin. By the decree of the
Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
, the union of the sees of Kildare and Leighlin was approved by
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700.
He ...
on 29 November 1694.
[, ''Maps, Genealogies, Lists'', p. 374.] However, the first three bishops of the united see continued to each receive a separate appointment as
apostolic administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
s of Leighlin.
[
The current bishop is the Most Reverend ]Denis Nulty
Denis Nulty KC*HS (born 7 June 1963) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin since 2013.
Early life
Nulty was born in Slane, County Meath, on 7 June 1963, the youngest of five children to Den Nulty an ...
who was appointed by Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
on 7 May 2013 and received episcopal ordination
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
at the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Carlow on 4 August 2013 from the Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin
Diarmuid Martin (born 8 April 1945) is the retired Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Martin was ordained a priest in 1969 and represented the Holy See at major United Nations International Conferences before becoming th ...
, Archbishop of Dublin.
List of Bishops of Kildare and Leighlin
Notes
References
*
*
*
{{Catholic Church in Ireland
Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the A ...
Religion in County Kildare
Religion in County Carlow
Roman Catholic bishops of Kildare and Leighlin
Bishops of Kildare or Ferns or Leighlin or of Ossory