Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Limerick
Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick
Catholic diocese in Ireland
The Diocese of Limerick (Irish: Deoise Luimnigh) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly.
Diocese of Limerick Dioecesis Limericiensis Deoise Luimnigh | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Territory | Most of County Limerick and parts of counties Clare and Kerry |
| Ecclesiastical province | Cashel and Emly |
| Metropolitan | Cashel and Emly |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 811 sq mi (2,100 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2016) 192,300 184,300 (95.8%) |
| Parishes | 60 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin |
| Cathedral | St John's, Limerick |
| Patron saint | Ss Munchin and Ita |
| Secular priests | 65 (as of 2018) |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Brendan Leahy, Bishop of Limerick |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Kieran O'Reilly, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly |
| Bishops emeritus | Donal Murray |
| Map | |
| Website | |
| limerickdiocese.org | |
The cathedral church of the diocese is St John's Cathedral in Limerick.
The incumbent bishop of the diocese is Brendan Leahy.
The diocese is divided into 60 parishes, which are spread across three counties: 57 in Limerick (18 of which are in the Limerick city area), two in Clare, 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.[1]
As of 2018, there were 65 priests in active ministry, 27 of whom were over the age of 65.[2]
Aside from the cathedral city of Limerick, the main towns in the diocese are Abbeyfeale, Adare, Kilmallock, Newcastle West, and Rathkeale.
| Pastoral Unit | Parishes |
|---|---|
| Pastoral Unit 1 |
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| Pastoral Unit 2 |
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| Pastoral Unit 3 |
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| Pastoral Unit 4 | Sub-unit A
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Sub-unit B
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| Pastoral Unit 5 |
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| Pastoral Unit 6 |
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| Pastoral Unit 7 | Sub-unit A |
| Sub-unit B | |
| Pastoral Unit 8 |
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| Pastoral Unit 9 | Sub-unit A
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Sub-unit B
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| Pastoral Unit 10 |
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| Pastoral Unit 11 | |
| Pastoral Unit 12 | |
| Pastoral Unit 13 |
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| Pastoral Unit 14 | |
| Pastoral Unit 15 |
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| Pastoral Unit 16 |
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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 (1918–1923)
- David Keane (1923–1945)
- Patrick O'Neill (1945–1958)
- Henry Murphy (1958–1973)
- Jeremiah Newman (1974–1995)
- Donal Murray (1996–2009)
- Sede vacante (2009–2013)
- Brendan Leahy (2013–present)
- Hurley, David (2 December 2018). "New 'pastoral units' unveiled for Diocese of Limerick". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- Baker, Noel (3 April 2018). "Special Report - Diocese by diocese: The state of the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland today". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Limerick". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.