Finally: We Have a Bishop!

The Nationalist
June 4, 2013

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/2013/06/04/finally-we-have-a-bishop/

Fr Denis Nulty, PP of St Mary’s parish in Drogheda, was appointed Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin at Carlow Cathedral

The new Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty is congratulated by students from St Leo’s College

A NEW bishop was appointed to the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin last week.

Fr Denis Nulty, a former parish priest in St Mary’s Parish, Drogheda will fill the position, which has been vacant for more than three years.

The diocese has been without a figurehead since the resignation of Bishop Jim Moriarty was accepted in December 2009.

At 49, Fr Nulty will become the youngest bishop in the country.

Almost 200 people, young and old, gathered outside the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow town on Tuesday morning, 7 May, for the announcement.

Members of the public, school children from across the county, local representatives and priests from throughout the diocese were joined in their celebration by Bishop Emeritus Moriarty.

Diocesan administrator Mgr Brendan Byrne welcomed the new bishop and thanked Pope Francis for the long-awaited appointment.

“As everyone is well aware, this day was long-awaited and we are joyful now to greet our bishop-elect and to extend to him our congratulations and warmest welcome,” added Mgr Byrne.

A native of Slane, Fr Nulty was ordained to the Diocese of Meath in June 1988. In September of that year he was appointed as curate in the Cathedral Parish in Mullingar, where he served for ten years before moving to his current position in St Mary’s, Drogheda.

In 2006, he returned to education and earned an MA in management for the pastoral and voluntary services in DCU. Later that year he was appointed as Vicar Forane for the Duleek Deanery.

He has been chairperson of the Council of Priests in the Meath diocese for the past eight years.

Speaking to the crowd in Carlow, Fr Nulty said he felt “honoured, privileged and humbled” by the appointment.

Fr Nulty promised that he has “come to listen”.

“I come today to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin as a priest who has been immersed in parish life since ordination. They have been a very rewarding and enriching 25 years, during which I have been taught so much about being a priest among people in the struggles and the joys of ordinary life.

“I come to listen to the conversation of faith in the diocese. I come to care for priests, to encourage seminarians and to support the faith growth of the young, who may feel at times isolated or on the fringe.”

Fr Nulty will step into his new role in the coming weeks.