Cornelius "Con" Lucey (1902–1982) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the town of Rosscarbery in Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and again from 1679 to ...

Youth and education

Cornelius Lucey was born 15 July 1902 into a farming family at Windsor,

Ovens, County Cork Ovens (), formerly also Athnowen, is a small village adjacent to the town of Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland. The 2006 census recorded that the population of the village was 1,703 - an increase of 62.1% from the 2002 Census. Ovens is within ...

near

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

. He attended Ballinora Primary School and played for the local GAA club. He studied at St Finbarr's College, Farranferris, the diocesan college. He graduated from

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

with BC and BCL, and obtained MAs at

Innsbruck University The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

in 1927–29 and then

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

from 1929 to 1930.

Priestly Ministry

Lucey was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1927. He held the Chair of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and Political Theory at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth from 1929 to 1950. Alongside

Peter McKevitt Peter McKevitt (1900–1976) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, author and sociologist. He served as Chair of Catholic Sociology and Catholic Action in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, holding the position from 1937 to 1953. Career McKevitt w ...

, he was one of the founders of Christus Rex, a priestly society devoted to social issues, on which he was a prominent commentator.

Episcopal Ministry

In November 1950 Lucey was appointed titular Bishop of Sila and auxiliary bishop of Cork with right of succession, and was consecrated bishop the following January. Upon the death of Bishop Cohalan, in August 1952, Lucey became Bishop of Cork. In 1958 the Diocese of Ross united with the Diocese of Cork. Shortly after his appointment as Bishop of Cork And Ross Lucey embarked on a plan to build five new churches in the rapidly developing suburbs of Cork. The five new churches were named after the five Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. During his tenure, he founded a total of thirteen churches in Cork. He founded the St. Anne's

Adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

Society in 1954. His outspoken sermons, often given at

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

s, made him something of a thorn in the side of the establishment. His views on matters of faith and morals were conservative, and he was involved in a controversy in the 1960s, when he withdrew the diocesan faculties of Father James Good, a lecturer at

University College, Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

, for publicly dissenting from the teaching of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. In 1965 Bishop Lucey started the Cork diocesan

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, where many priests from Cork ministered. The last of the Irish missioners returned from La Esperanza to Ireland in 2004.

African Ministry in Retirement

Lucey retired as bishop in 1980. He went to the

Turkana District Turkana County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It is Kenya's largest county by land area (followed by Marsabit County), and also its northwesternmost. It is bordered by the countries of Uganda to the west; South Sudan an ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

to work as an ordinary

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

with Fr. James Good, who had gone there some years earlier. Good later described the last two years of the Bishop's life and his reaction to Turkana customs: :The parish priest of Lorogumu was an advanced

liturgist Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and (among other things) had introduced general absolution along with an entrance rite to Sunday Mass in which six ladies clad (or unclad) à la Turkana custom danced to the altar before the priest. I panicked but Bishop Lucey got his way and was duly installed as curate in Lorogumu, under Fr Tony Barrett, a

Kiltegan Kiltegan () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland, on the R747 regional road close to the border with County Carlow. The 19th century mansion Humewood House lies just outside the village. It was built in 1870 for William Hume-Dick, ...

priest who was an expert in

Turkana language Turkana Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya and Ethiopia. It is spoken in northwestern Kenya, primarily in Turkana County, which lies west of Lake Turkana. It is o ...

and custom. It was a perfect combination: one might describe it as a perfect marriage of minds and of mutual admiration. At a later date I asked Bishop Lucey how he liked the Lorogumu liturgy and he replied 'very beautiful'.

Death and legacy

After nearly two years in Kenya he became seriously ill. He was flown back to Cork in May 1982, and was diagnosed with leukaemia. He died on 24 September 1982 at

Bon Secours Hospital, Cork The Bon Secours Hospital, Cork is a private hospital in Cork, Ireland. The hospital is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health. This includes sister hospitals in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Tralee. The hospital has over 18,000 admissions and 29,000 o ...

. In 1985, as part of the Cork 800 festival, a site between Grand Parade and South Main Street was developed into an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

named "

Bishop Lucey Park Bishop Lucey Park is a public park located between Grand Parade and South Main Street in the centre of Cork in Ireland. It is one of few green spaces in the city centre and among the largest. It is often erroneously known as "The Peace Park" ...

References