The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town 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 ce ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the count ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. 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 ...

, the title has been merged with that of the bishopric of Leighlin and is currently held by the

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, one of the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Dublin. The episcopal title takes its name from the towns of Kildare and Old Leighlin i ...

. 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 sec ...

, the title has been merged with that of the bishopric of Meath and is currently held by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare.

History

In the 5th century, the Abbey of Kildare was founded by

Saint Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogr ...

, a double monastery of nuns and monks. The abbey was governed by an abbess, who was the 'heir of Brigit' ('' comarbae Brigte''), and by abbots, bishops and abbot-bishops, who were subordinate to the abbess. Although the bishopric was founded with the abbey in the fifth century, it wasn't until 1111 AD that the diocese of Kildare was established at the Synod of Rathbreasail. The diocese covered roughly the northern part of

and the eastern part of

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...

. After the episcopate of Walter Wellesley (1529–1539), there were parallel

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bisho ...

s. In the

, Kildare continued as an independent diocese until 1846 when it amalgamated with Dublin and Glendalough to form the united Diocese of Dublin, Kildare and Glendalough. In 1976, Kildare broke away from Dublin and Glendalough and combined with Meath to form the current united

Diocese of Meath and Kildare The United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare is a diocese in the Church of Ireland located in the Republic of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Alone of English and Irish bishops who are not also archbishops, the ...

. The Roman Catholic bishopric of Kildare too remained separate until it linked with the bishopric of Leighlin. The bishops of Kildare had been

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 adm ...

s of Leighlin since 1683 and the union of the two sees was formally decreed on 29 November 1694.

Pre-Reformation bishops

Monastic bishops of Kildare

Diocesan bishops of Kildare

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

Notes

* Thomas Leverous was bishop of both successions when they were briefly reunited in the reign of Queen Mary I.

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend

External links

Diocese of Kildare
at kildare.ie Religion in County Kildare

Bishop Former Roman Catholic bishoprics in Ireland Bishops of Kildare or Ferns or Leighlin or of Ossory