It is a sign of the passage of time that we now have a bishop of Galway who is younger than the Cathedral in which he serves. At his installation Mass on Sunday afternoon, which was delayed by a quarter hour because of traffic congestion on what was an unusually busy Bank Holiday Sunday in the city, he spoke of the great honour it is to be appointed to work in the Cathedral which he said has “lived up to Bishop Browne’s dream that it would be “solid, dignified and worthy of Galway.”
“It stands as a testimony to the faith of the people of this locality and a visible daily reminder to raise our minds and hearts towards God,” he said.
However, he also said that much of the Church infrastructure, its systems, its pastoral practices that were beneficial in the past, now hinder rather than help the life of faith.
“Perhaps the Lord is asking us to throw out our nets in a different direction. In the direction of a new and profound re-evangelisation of ourselves.”
More than 1,500 people attended the ceremony alongside the Papal Nuncio and the Primate of All Ireland, as well as members of Bishop Duignan’s family and distinguished civic guests from the area.
Bishop Duignan opened his homily at the Installation Mass by jocosely quoting his mother and her recation to the news that the ceremony is ‘an installation.’
“When I used the word “Installation” in conversation with my mother she simply replied; “could they not have got a better word for it? Installing something. That sounds like getting a new washing machine or a fridge freezer.”
Honoured
“I am both honoured and humbled to be formally received and welcomed in this way by the priests and people of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. Established by Pope Gregory XVI in 1821, Galway is the youngest diocese in Ireland. The first bishop was George Joseph Plunkett Browne. Coincidently, before his appointment, he was the Parish Priest of my home parish in Athlone and like me was a priest of the Diocese of Elphin.
“In 1883, Pope Leo XIII joined the Diocese of Galway with the Diocese of Kilmacduagh and appointed the Bishop of Galway Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora in perpetuum. I am conscious that today marks yet another historic milestone for the people of faith in these parts.
“For, as we have heard in his letter to us, Pope Francis has appointed, for the first time, one Bishop to serve the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora and the venerable and ancient Diocese of Clonfert. This is a historic development, not just for the Church communities in the parts of the counties of Galway, Clare, Mayo, Roscommon and Offaly that comprise the two dioceses but also for the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland as a whole.
“By contrast nowadays, at times, you might be inclined to think that faith in God, or friendship with Jesus or the living out of Christian Wisdom is something that will soon be a thing of the past. For a variety of reasons, many no longer believe the message. Many of our parishes are struggling, on so many levels, to support a vibrant faith community.
“Despite the great work done by generations of priests, religious and lay people now, at times, it feels like we have been out all night without a single catch. We can no longer ignore the fact that much of what the Church has built up in Ireland over the last two centuries is crumbling before our eyes.
“The more and more I see, the more and more I am convinced that much of our infrastructure, our systems, our pastoral practices that were beneficial in the past, now hinder rather than help the life of faith. Here too we stand at a “threshold moment”. Inevitably, there will be a sense of genuine mourning in letting go but these Easter days tell us that out of such death comes new hope and new life. Perhaps the Lord is asking us to throw out our nets in a different direction. In the direction of a new and profound re-evangelisation of ourselves.
“As individuals and as a community, perhaps we now need to focus on rediscovering that living presence of the risen Christ among us. We need to experience again the joy and excitement his message gives. We need to rekindle our confidence in its ability to transform our oft broken lives and transfigure our suffering world for the better. We need to sense anew that, this joy, like all joy, is a joy that calls out to be boldly talked about and respectfully shared with our fellow travellers on life’s journey.
Smaller faith community
“It is clear that in the future, we will be a smaller faith community, but with the help of God we will be a more faith-filled, vibrant, welcoming, grounded community. A faith community that is aware of our individual human weakness while, at the same time, ever striving to overcome such weakness with the merciful healing help of God. A faith community that lives the message of Jesus in a way that better speaks in equal measure to the lives of our fellow women and men. A faith community that builds bridges not barriers and that reaches out in compassion to aid those who find themselves in need.
“A faith community that is less afraid of those who see life differently from us. A faith community that finds its appropriate place within Irish society and an Irish Society that finds a fair place for people of faith. A faith community, that is filled with the sound of young voices and that is inspired by their idealism and urged on by their energy. A faith community, where people, priests and bishop walk side by side in a truly synodal manner as companions on the great adventure that is the Christian way of life.
“I thank you, the priests and people of the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora for your generous welcome. I thank you for receiving me and accepting me as a travelling companion on the journey of life. I pray and I ask you to pray that I, though flawed in so many ways, may with God’s help do some good among you. Pray also that we will renew our confidence in the presence of the risen Jesus with us on the way. Pray that we will discuss, dialogue and discern together what he is calling us to do in our today. Pray that we will commit ourselves to action and work towards a future of new possibilities and new opportunities.
“As the month of May begins and we bask in the warming hope filled light of these Easter days, let us not forget as Saint Paul reminds us to “give glory to God who working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20 ), St Nicholas, St Colman, St Fachanan, St Brendan, Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted, Pray for us Amen,” he concluded.
