Kilkenny St Canice Cathedral SW 2007 08 28

The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of

Kingdom of Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...

in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 ...

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 ...

. 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 remains 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 sec ...

it has been united with other bishoprics.

History

The diocese of Ossory was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111 and coincided with the ancient

(Osraige); this is unusual, as Christian dioceses are almost always named for cities, not for regions. 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 ...

has always been in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, the capital of Ossory at the time of the Synod of Rathbreasail. The erroneous belief that the cathedral was originally further north at Aghaboe is traced by John Bradley to a 16th-century misinterpretation of a 13th-century property transfer, combined with the fact that the abbey at the site which became St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, was a daughter house of Aghaboe Abbey. Following 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 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

, the see of Ossory combined with Ferns and Leighlin to form the united bishopric of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin in 1835. In the

, the title continues as a separate bishopric. 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 principal ...

) is located at

St. Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny St Mary’s is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory. It is situated on James’s Street, Kilkenny, Ireland. Saint Mary’s was designed by William Deane Butler (c.1794-1857). He was chosen by Bishop William Kinsella (1 ...

. The current Ordinary is the Most Reverend

Niall Coll Niall Coll (born 25 August 1963) is an Irish Roman Catholic priest and theologian who was appointed Bishop-elect of Ossory on 28 October 2022. Early life and education Coll was born in Letterkenny, County Donegal, on 25 August 1963, the ...

, 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 28 October 2022 and ordained bishop on 29 December 2022.

Pre-diocesan succession

The following list of bishops is inscribed in

St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny St Mary’s is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory. It is situated on James’s Street, Kilkenny, Ireland. Saint Mary’s was designed by William Deane Butler (c.1794-1857). He was chosen by Bishop William Kinsella ...

and was listed on the Roman Catholic diocese's website. Bishops in the early Irish church ruled over a kingdom, in this case, Osraige or Ossory, but were also often associated with a particular monastery and may have been in some matters subordinate to its

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

. * St.

Ciarán of Saigir Ciarán of Saigir (5th century – ), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran ( cy, Cieran), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland,''Catholic Online''St. Kier ...

(Kieran) (Feast date: 5 March) According to his

vitae ''Vitae'' is a Latin word, meaning or pertaining to life. * Aqua vitae, archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol, distilled spirits * Arbor vitae (disambiguation), "tree of life" * ''De Brevitate Vitae'', work of Roman philo ...

, St. Ciarán was ordained to the episcopate by Pope Celestine I. * St. Carthage (Feast date: 5 March) * St. Medran (Feast date: 8 June) * St. Sedna (Feast date: 10 March) * St. Muccine (Feast date: 4 March) * St.

Modomnoc St. Modomnóc of Ossory (also ''Domnóc'' and ''Dominic'') (died c. 550) was an Irish saint and missionary in Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingd ...

(Feast date: 13 February) * St. Aengus Lamoidan (Feast date: 16 February) * St. Lachtin (Feast date: 19 March) * St. Colman Ua Eirc (Feast date: 22 April) * St. Cuillen (Feast date: 22 April) * St. Bochonna (Feast date: 13 January) * St. Finnech Duirn (Feast date: 2 February) * St. Eochan (Feast date: 18 April) * St. Killene Mac Lubne (d. 696) * Laidhgnen Mac Doinlanach (d. 739) * Tnuthgall (d. 771) * Mocoach (d. 788) * Cucathrach (d. 793) * Cothach (d. 812) * Fereoach (d. 814) * Conchobhar (d. 815) * Conmhach Ua Loichene (d. 826) * Inchalach (d. 832) * Anluan (d. 846) * Cormac Mac Eladhach (d. 867) * Ceran Departed (d. 868) * Sloidhedhach (d. 885) * Cormac (d. 907) * Fearchal (d. 919) * Fochartach (d. 941) * Colman (d. 948) * Confoelad (d. 951) * Donchadh (d. 971) * Fochartach (d. 1004) * Donchad Ua Celieachair (d. 1048) * Comhoran (d. 1066) * Ceallack Reamhar (d. 1079) * Ceallack Ua Caonhoran (d. 1108)

Pre-Reformation bishops

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation Roman Catholic succession

Church of Ireland succession

References

External links

GCatholic with Catholic incumbent bio links
{{Catholic Church in Ireland

Ossory Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...

Roman Catholic bishops of Ossory Religion in County Kilkenny Bishops of Kildare or Ferns or Leighlin or of Ossory Bishops of Ossory Anglican bishops of Ossory