The Diocese of Cork and Ross ( ga, Deoise Chorcaí agus Rosa) is 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 let ...

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

in southern Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is

Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne The Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Anne (), also known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, The North Cathedral or The North Chapel, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at the top of Shandon Street in Cork, Ireland. It is the seat of the Bishop of ...

in Cork city. The incumbent bishop of the diocese is Fintan Gavin.

History

Diocese of Cork (1111-1429)

The original Diocese of Cork was established by the

Synod of Ráth Breasail The Synod of Ráth Breasail (also known as Rathbreasail) ( Irish: ''Sionad Ráth Bhreasail'') was an Irish Catholic church council which took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and ...

in 1111, but was reduced in size by the establishment of separate Dioceses of

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Ca ...

and Ross at the

Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...

in 1152.

Diocese of Cork and Cloyne (14291748)

On petition of

King Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to the ...

, Pope John XXII issued a papal bull for the union of the Dioceses of Cork and Cloyne on 30 July 1326, with effect from the death of either bishop. The union should have taken effect on the death of Philip of Slane in 1327, but bishops were still appointed to both dioceses. The dioceses were eventually united on the episcopal appointment of Jordan Purcell on 15 June 1429, following their impoverishment from the robbery of church property by the nobility. From 1693 to 1747, the Bishop of Cork and Cloyne was also the

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 ...

of the Diocese of Ross.

Diocese of Cork (17481958)

Following a decree by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

on 10 December 1747, the Diocese of Cork was reconstituted as a stand-alone entity, while the Diocese of Cloyne was united with Ross.

Diocese of Cork and Ross (1958present)

The modern-day Diocese of Cork and Ross was formed by an ''

ex aequo ''Ex aequo et bono'' (Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience") is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with conside ...

principaliter'' union of the Dioceses of Cork and Ross on 19 April 1958. Parish Assemblies and Parish Pastoral Councils are involved in running the parishes in the diocese. The diocese runs a number of Adult faith development programmes, such as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. With the ''Cork Scripture Group'' and the neighbouring Diocese of Cloyne the diocese offers a Diocesan Certificate in Biblical Studies.

Geography

The diocese is divided into 68 parishes, all of which are in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. 57 parishes were part of the former

Diocese of Cork The Diocese of Cork was established in the seventh century. The diocese of Cork was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail on an ancient bishopric founded by Saint Finbarr in the sixth-century. On 30 July 1326, P ...

, while 11 were part of the Diocese of Ross. The diocesan boundary with the neighbouring Diocese of Cloyne roughly follows the course of the

River Lee The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's ...

. The parishes are grouped into 17 Pastoral Areas, whose remit is to enable the Christian mission of the parishes, facilitate greater sharing of resources and promote learning through reflection on experience. Aside from the cathedral city of Cork and the co-cathedral town of

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reac ...

, the main towns in the diocese are Bandon,

Carrigaline Carrigaline () is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork city, and with a population of 15,770 people, it is one of the largest commuter towns of the city. The R611 regiona ...

Carrigtwohill Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill (), is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of 5,080 (2016). It is 12 kilometres east of Cork city. It is connected to Cork Suburban Rail and is bypassed by the N25 road. Carrigtwohill is on ...

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

and

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

Ordinaries

The following is a list of bishops since the unification of the Dioceses of Cork and Ross in 1958: *

Cornelius Lucey Cornelius "Con" Lucey (1902–1982) was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Ross. Youth and education Cornelius Lucey was born 15 July 1902 into a farming family at Windsor, Ovens, County Cork near Cork City. He attended Ballinora Primary School ...

(19521980) * Michael Murphy (19801996) * John Buckley (19972019) * Fintan Gavin (2019present)

References

Bibliography

* * pp. 211–212. (in Latin) * * *

External links

GCatholic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork and Ross 1958 establishments in Ireland Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Religion in County Cork Organisations based in Cork (city) Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Cashel