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St. Columba's Boys National School in Douglas is Blessed and Officially Opened
Principal, Dan O’Connor | Bishop Fintan Gavin | Chairperson of BOM, Donal Murray
St. Columba's Boys National School in Douglas is Blessed and Officially Opened
Bishop Fintan recently blessed the new school building at St. Columba’s Boys National School in Douglas. The new building is on the same campus as St. Columba’s Girls National School with Facilities for Deaf Children in West Douglas. The new building was completed in 2020 and has been in use since that time however due to covid restrictions, the official blessing and opening has not been possible until October 2022.
Bishop Fintan blessed and congratulated all involved in the development and construction of the new school building in the heart of Douglas especially the students who filled the school hall, school staff, parents, families and the wider school community.
Bishop Fintan is patron of St. Columba’s Boys National School. The chairperson of the Board of Management is Mr. Donal Murray and the school principal is Mr. Dan O’Connor.
Bishop Fintan visits Blackrock ParishBishop Fintan Gavin made his first pastoral visit to Blackrock Parish on Saturday 5th/Sunday 6th November for weekend Masses
In his opening remarks, he mentioned that his first visit to St. Michael’s Church was for the Requiem Mass of the late Canon Kieran Twomey on 1st July 2019 which was his first day as Bishop of the Diocese.
Bishop Fintan celebrated all three weekend Masses and met with parishioners after each one. He was welcomed by Fr. Colin Doocey Adm at the beginning of each Mass.
A new Adoration Chapel has just opened in Saints Peter and Paul's Church in the heart of Cork City, just off Patrick Street
If you are in town, pop in and say a prayer for the Holy Souls during this month of November.
It is open on Wednesdays (10am to 8pm), Thursdays (8am to 7.30pm) and Fridays (8am to 7pm).
Ss Peter and Pauls Church, Cork was dedicated for worship in 1866. The architect was G. W. Pugin and the sanctuary was designed by George C. Aishlin. The original plans for the church included a tall spire but this was never built.
SS Peter and Pauls chapel in Cork city
Here is a list of November Blessing of Graves and Cemetery Prayers throughout the Diocese
Rosary for world peace at BallincolligLast Thursday evening parishioners of Ballinora, Ballincollig and Ovens/Farran united in prayer as one of the newly created Families of Parishes.
This report is from Fr. Kamil Bachara CC
It was a good start, a first step on the journey as we want to build a real family, where everyone is welcome and there is a place for everyone.
More than 100 people gathered in St. Mary’s and St. John’s Church in Ballincollig to pray together The Rosary for World Peace. They were welcomed by Sr. Nan O’Mahony who also gave a lovely reflection on Our Lady. Then the Rosary started. Each decade was led by a rep of a different community and followed by a hymn sung by one of the choirs. There were choirs from Ovens, Ballinora and Ballincollig involved.
Bishop Fintan has visited Sacred Heart Parish, Western Road, Cork and also presided at Mass at which a new parish priest was installed.
Fr Con Doherty MSC was installed as the parish's new parish priest who will minister there withFr. Des Farren MSC.
Both priests are Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
The parish includes Western Road, Mardyke, Victoria Cross, Lee Road, (from Our Lady’s Hospital gate eastwards) and Sunday’s Well Road (to Daly’s Bridge).
(Image: Mike English)
Bishop, clergy and parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish, Western Road
The late Archbishop Patrick CoveneyBishop Fintan Gavin has announced that the death has occurred of Archbishop Patrick Coveney who has resided in Crosshaven Parish since his retirement as Apostolic Nuncio to Greece in 2009.
Archbishop Coveney was born in 1934 and is a native of Tracton Abbey Parish. He was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Cork and Ross in Rome in 1959.
His first pastoral appointment was in Kidlington, Archdiocese of Bermingham, for one year before joining the staff of St. Finbarr’s Seminary, Farranferris from 1960 – 1966.
In 1966 he joined the Secretariat of State in the Vatican and then entered the Pontifical Ecclesial Academy in 1969. He served as Secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio in Argentina from 1972 -1976 after which he returned to Rome to rejoin the Secretariat of State until 1982. He then moved to New Delhi until 1984 as counsellor to the Nunciature there and then to Khartoum in Sudan until 1985.
He was consecrated as Titular Archbishop of Satrianum in the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne in the Diocese of Cork and Ross on 15th September 1985 and was appointed as Apostolic Pro Nuncio to Zimbabwe and Apostolic Delegate to Mozambique until 1990. He then served as Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia residing in Addis Ababa as well as Apostolic Delegate to Djibouti until 1996.
He was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio in New Zealand, the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Apostolic Delegate for Oceania in 1996 until 2005 residing in Wellington.
In this period he also served as Apostolic Nuncio to Samoa, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Nauru, Cook Islands and Palau.
He was then appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Greece from 2005 residing in Athens until his retirement in 2009.
Archbishop Coveney returned to the Diocese of Cork and Ross to reside in Crosshaven Parish. He assisted in Crosshaven parish as well as celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in many parishes throughout the Diocese of Cork and Ross at the invitation of Bishop Gavin and Bishop Buckley.
May he rest in peace.
Bishop Fintan Gavin met with the Diocesan Primary School Advisors for a day of reflection, sharing and planning for the future.
The diocesan advisors are lay people with extensive educational involvement appointed by the Bishop to support our parish schools in the delivery of the Catholic religious education curriculum.
Bishop Fintan affirmed the work of the diocesan advisers and the support they have offered to schools across the diocese by visiting the schools and by appraising teachers of resources available to support their work. Together with the bishop they began a conversation about how this can be best done into the future in rapidly evolving religious and educational landscape.
“It is part of our mission as a faith community to reach out to others with the Good News of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Fintan said. “And the diocesan advisors have made an important contribution to this.”
The meeting on Thursday 20th October took place at Presentation Brothers, Mardyke House, Cork and was facilitated by Br. Martin Kenneally.
"We had a very worthwhile meeting,"
At the meeting of Diocesan Primary School Advisors are; (l to r.) Brid O Callaghan, Catriona Ui Shuileabhain, Phil Deasy, Regina O'Sullivan (Diocesan Education Secretariat), Br. Martin Kenneally, Eddie Moloney, Bishop Fintan Gavin, TJ Coakley, Seamus O’Dálaigh, (Primary Religious Education Coordinator), Con McCarthy and AnnMarie Barry.
Bishop Fintan Gavin at the Cathedral
Bishop Fintan Gavin has issued updated guidance to the clergy of the diocese which acknowledges that most Covid19 restrictions were lifted last February with ongoing caution needed.
Noting that "that we will have to learn to live with Covid19 in the safest way possible", the bishop's guidance allows for the careful restoration of most church practices which were routine before the pandemic.
Reception of Holy Communion
People may receive either in the hand or on the tongue.
Face Coverings
While people are no longer obliged to wear face coverings in churches some may continue to do so by choice. However, for the distribution of Holy Communion, Priests, Deacons and Ministers of the Eucharist should continue to wear a face covering and to sanitise their hands before and after distributing Holy Communion.
Parish Ministries
All ministries such as choirs, music ministry, Ministers of the Word, Ministers of the Eucharist, altar servers, funeral ministry, baptism ministry and other such parish groups should be reinstated.
At CONNECT2 young adult Catholics with Bishop Fintan
It was pouring rain outside around the UCC campus on Sunday but over one hundred young people took their coats off and got stuck into discussions and debates about their faith.
The Diocese of Cork and Ross hosted CONNECT 2 at UCC's Devere Hall and Honan Chapel as part of a planned engagement with young adults about their faith.
This was a follow up to the CONNECT event held in the same venue in May.
Young adults from around the Diocese gathered for a day which included a talk, workshops, testimonies, lunch and finished with Mass celebrated by Bishop Fintan Gavin.
It is hoped that many of the attendees will join the Diocese in August for its first journey to World Youth Day in Lisbon with Pope Francis.
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April 2025
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