The Diocese of Limerick (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Deoise Luimnigh'') 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 associ ...

in mid-western

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 ...

, one of six

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

s 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 sev ...

of Cashel and Emly. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

church of the diocese is St John's Cathedral in

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 2 ...

. The incumbent bishop of the diocese is

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 ...

Geography

The diocese is divided into 60 parishes, which are spread across three counties: 57 in

, 18 of which are in the Limerick city area, two in

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, and one between Limerick and Kerry. The parishes are grouped into 16 Pastoral Units, where groups of priests are appointed to cover a number of parishes between them. As of 2018, there were 65 priests in active ministry, 27 of whom were over the age of 65. Aside from the cathedral city of

, the main towns in the diocese are

Abbeyfeale Abbeyfeale (; ) is a historic market town in County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Kerry. The town is on the N21 road from Limerick to Tralee, some south-west of Newcastle West and south-east of Listowel and north-east of Tr ...

, Adare,

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are st ...

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...

, and

Rathkeale Rathkeale () is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. Rathkeale has a significant Irish Traveller population, and ...

Ordinaries

The following is a list of the ten most recent bishops: * Charles Tuohy (1814–1828) * John Ryan (1828–1864) * George Butler (1864–1886) * Edward Thomas O'Dwyer (1886–1917) *

Denis Hallinan Denis Hallinan (14 November 1849, Graigue – 2 July 1923, Limerick) was an Irish Roman Catholic bishop. Hallinan was educated at The Irish College, Rome and ordained in 1874. After a curacy in Jersey he joined the staff of St Munchin's Colle ...

(1918–1923) * David Keane (1923–1945) * Patrick O'Neill (1945–1958) * Henry Murphy (1958–1973) *

Jeremiah Newman Jeremiah Newman (1926–1995) was Bishop of Limerick 1974–1995 having served as Professor and President of St Patrick's College, Maynooth. Early life and education He was born in Dromcollogher on 31 March 1926 and after a local primary educati ...

(1974–1995) * Donal Murray (1996–2009) * ''

Sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

'' (2009–2013) *

(2013–present)

External links

Official Diocesan website

Pastoral Unit List

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Cashel

Geography

Ordinaries

See also

External links

References