Pope Francis has appointed Mullingar native Father Paul Connell as the new Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois. News of this Episcopal appointment was announced to mass goers in Longford’s St Mel’s Cathedral last Wednesday morning by Monsignor Julien Kaboré, Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ireland. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois had been without a bishop since November 10, 2021, when Bishop Francis Duffy was appointed as Archbishop of Tuam. Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Duffy, Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan, Bishop-elect Connell; Monsignor Kaboré; Father Tom Healy, Diocesan Administrator of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, and also present were Bishop Emeritus Ardagh and Clonmacnois Colm O’Reilly and Bishop Emeritus of Meath Michael Smith. Bishop-elect Connell told the congregation that there was ‘no one more surprised to be here than he was’. “When I was asked by Monsignor Julien to come to see him, I was rather hoping it was for the purpose of briefing him on an educational issue. Given my presence here today you can see that the Lord had something else in mind!” Ordained in 1982, Bishop-elect Connell outlined that ‘accepting this appointment obviously was not an easy decision or one that I took lightly’. “The responsibilities that come with the office of bishop are daunting, indeed frightening. I am deeply humbled by the Holy Father’s decision and I can only hope that I will be able to carry out my duties in a manner that befits his trust in me.” Address by Bishop-elect Paul Connell on his appointment by Pope Francis as Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois As we gather this morning on Spy Wednesday in the midst of the holiest of weeks in the Church calendar, there is no one more surprised to be here than I am. When I was asked early last week by Monsignor Julien to come to see him at the Nunciature in Dublin, I was rather hoping it was for the purpose of briefing him on an educational issue. Given my presence here today you can see
PICTURES | New Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois tells Longford mass goers of 'daunting' responsibility
