The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the

Province of Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

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 ...

. In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

it still continues as a separate title, but in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

it has been united with other bishoprics.

History

The diocese of Limerick is one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the

Synod of Rathbreasail A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

in 1111. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, there are parallel apostolic successions: one of the

and the other of the

. In the Church of Ireland, Limerick continued as a separate title until 1661 when it was combined with Ardfert and Aghadoe to form the united bishopric of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe. Since 1976, the Church of Ireland see has been part of the united bishopric of Limerick and Killaloe. In the Roman Catholic Church, Limerick still remains as a separate title. The current bishop is the Most Reverend

Brendan Leahy Brendan Leahy (born 28 March 1960) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate and theologian who has served as Bishop of Limerick since 2013. Early life Leahy was born in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, on 28 March 1960, the third of four children to Ma ...

, Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick The Diocese of Limerick (Irish: ''Deoise Luimnigh'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is St John's Cathedra ...

, who was appointed by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

on 10 January 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 ...

on 14 April 2013.

Pre-Reformation bishops

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

Notes

* Some sources state that John Quin resigned by consequences of his infirmities. However, another source states he was forced to resign by

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in 1551, but was restored by

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

in 1553., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 437. * Hugh Lacy became bishop of both successions when they were briefly reunited in the reign of

. After the accession of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, he was deprived of the Church of Ireland title in 1571, but continued with the Roman Catholic title until his death in 1580.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Bishops' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''Bishop Richard Arthur' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''Bishop Jeremiah Newman' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''Bishop Terence Albert O'Brien' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''Bishop Cornelius O'Dea' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''Bishop Edward Thomas O'Dwyer' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Of Limerick

Religion in County Limerick Roman Catholic bishops of Limerick