Fifty-three young people from the Diocese of Cork & Ross are making their final preparations ahead of their departure for the Jubilee of Youth in Rome next week.

The group gathered last night at Mardyke House for their final preparatory meeting. The evening included a detailed presentation outlining the practical arrangements and programme of events planned for the week-long pilgrimage.

The evening concluded with Compline, led by Bishop Fintan Gavin. Each pilgrim was then presented with a Bible and two specially designed t-shirts to mark the occasion.

Sarah Ryan-Purcell

In today's Irish Times, Sarah-Ryan Purcell, who cantors at Mass in St Michael's, Blackrock on Sunday, wrote an article on her experience of the revival of Catholic faith amongst young people here in Ireland. She is part of the group of over 50 young adults who will travel next week with Bishop Fintan to the Jubilee of Youth in Rome next week.

Irish Times Article

It’s over 60 years since the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross, lead by Bishop Lucey, took a decision which would change the lives of many people in South America.

On St. Patrick’s Day, 1965, Bishop Cornelius Lucey took pastoral responsibility for thousands of people living in the sands around the city of Trujillo in northern Peru.

Decades later, the mission was extended to include an area near the city of Manta , Ecuador. 

The Mission in Peru was in the sandy suburbs of Trujillo

The people and clergy of the Diocese of Cork and Ross responded with 111,193 words to questions posed by Bishop Fintan Gavin across the diocese.

That’s 291 pages on standard paper. It’s the feedback from a series of meetings held by the Office for Mission and Ministry of the Diocese as part of what Bishop Fintan had called a year of “Prayer, Listening and Discernment”.

Now the content of these conversations has been collated and analysed and the summaries have been made available online. 

No! You won’t need to read 291 pages of text because as Bishop Fintan noted in his pastoral response “There was a remarkable unity across the diocese as to what God is challenging us to do, to work towards and to prioritise for this time.”

You can read all the documents, including thematic summaries for each family of parishes, by clicking on this link:

Report on Prayer, Listening and Discernment

Appointment of Diocesan Director of Safeguarding for Diocese of Cork and Ross 

Bishop Fintan Gavin has announced the appointment of Des Bell as Diocesan Director of Safeguarding in the Diocese of Cork and Ross. Des is based at the Diocesan Offices in Redemption Road.

Des joins the diocese following his recent retirement from An Garda Síochána. He brings with him extensive experience and numerous qualifications in the areas of child protection, welfare, risk assessment and intervention, psychology, and governance. His academic background includes a Masters in Social Policy, Child Protection and Welfare from University College Cork (UCC), and an MSc in Cybercrime from the University of Portsmouth. He is also an active volunteer in sports coaching and other community organisations.

As Diocesan Director of Safeguarding, Des is responsible for planning and managing the diocesan safeguarding service, with a particular focus on developing, maintaining, and monitoring a safe environment for children and vulnerable adults in all aspects of Church life and ministry. He will oversee all safeguarding training and ensure the safeguarding message is effectively communicated across the diocese, promoting best practice in every parish and ministry.

Bishop Fintan Gavin has announced the following changes to priest appointments in the diocese  

Retirement:

Fr John Collins AP in the Family of Parishes of Ballincollig, Ballinora, Kilmurry, Ovens and Farran retires from this full-time appointment, though his priestly ministry will continue. 

Priests taking up appointments in Families of Parishes in July 2025:

Canon John Kingston Co-PP in the Family of Parishes of Ardfield & Rathbarry, Barryroe, Clonakilty, Kilmeen & Castleventry, Rosscarbery & Lisavaird and Timoleague to become Assistant Priest (AP) in the same Family of Parishes. 

Fr Noel O’Sullivan Co-PP in the Family of Parishes of Douglas & Rochestown, Frankfield & Grange and Turner’s Cross to become Assistant Priest (AP) in the same Family of Parishes. 

Fr Michael Regan Co-PP in the Family of Parishes of Ballinhassig, Clontead, Courceys and Kinsale to become Assistant Priest (AP) in the same Family of Parishes.