New Primate of All Ireland ‘humbled to be following in the footsteps of St Patrick’

By Ciarán Hanna
Inside Ireland
September 9, 2014

http://insideireland.ie/2014/09/09/new-primate-of-all-ireland-humbled-to-be-following-in-the-footsteps-of-st-patrick-106976/

The new Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin has said he is ‘humbled to be following in the footsteps of St Patrick’, on the day he took office following the resignation of Cardinal Seán Brady.

On 8th September, Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Brady’s resignation and 52-year-old Archbishop Eamon Martin became the 116th Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in succession to Saint Patrick.

Cardinal Brady had let Catholic Church in Ireland for 18 years, but the last few years have been dominated by child sex abuse scandals in the Irish Catholic Church.

There were also claims that in 1975, the then Fr Brady covered up allegations of abuse by Fr Brendan Smyth.

On leaving Cardinal Brady thanked ‘the people, priests and religious of the Archdiocese of Armagh’ for their ‘welcome, friendship and so much kindness over many years’.

“It has been a great joy and privilege for me to serve as their Bishop and also to travel and meet people from all over Ireland in my role as Primate. I am very grateful to the leaders and members of the other Churches in the archdiocese and throughout Ireland and to all who have assisted me in any way to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. The people of this Cathedral City of Armagh have been so good to me and will, of course, always remain close to my heart. I thank the City Council and send greetings today to all of you who live and work in this historic city”.

-Cardinal Dr Seán Brady

Highlight of his life

The former Primate added that it was his privilege to have been appointed a Bishop by Pope St John Paul II, to have worked closely with Pope Benedict XVI, and to have taken part in the Conclave that elected Pope Francis. He said in a statement that the 2013 conclave had been ‘the highlight of his life’.

Archbishop Eamon Martin

Following the Cardinal’s resignation being accepted, Archbishop Eamon Martin immediately succeeds him as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.

Eamon Martin was born on 30 October 1961 in Pennyburn, Derry, and was ordained a priest in Saint Eugene’s Cathedral in the City by Bishop Edward Daly, in 1987.

In November 2011, he was appointed Diocesan Administrator of Derry Diocese, and for the last 16 months, Archbishop Martin has been the Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese, with the right of succession.

My brothers and sisters, there is a line in the letter to the Hebrews: ‘Every day, as long as this today lasts, keep encouraging one another (Heb3:13). Much of my life as a priest has been about encouraging people with the Good News of Jesus Christ, offering them ‘fresh heart’, even in the most troubled moments of life. But equally I have discovered that, as well as giving encouragement, I too need to receive encouragement. I am blessed with a wonderful family and very special friends who never stop encouraging me. I am very grateful also for the warmth of your support, welcome and prayers, not just today, but every day since I came to Armagh, sixteen months ago.

In a statement on 8th September, Archbishop Martin said he ‘genuinely feels honoured to assume the role of ‘Shepherd’ in the Archdiocese of Armagh’.

“I look forward to serving the people of sixty-one parishes in the counties of Armagh, Derry, Louth and Tyrone. I feel humbled to be following in the footsteps of St Patrick, and like him, I pray for ‘God’s strength to pilot me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s shield to protect me’.”

“People have been asking me to put ‘fresh heart’ into the renewal of the Church in this country. But I am only one person with all my inadequacies and sinfulness. The task of bringing the encouragement of faith to the world belongs to all of us – people, priests, religious sisters and brothers, bishops – working together in communion with Christ and with one another. I am certain that a humble renewal in the Church in Ireland will only come about as our lay people exercise their specific vocation and mission to hand on the faith and to insert the Gospel into the reality of their daily lives and work”.

Rev Dr Donald Watts, co–chair of the Irish Inter Church Meeting and President of the Irish Council of Churches sent his ‘good wishes’ to Cardinal Sean Brady on his retirement.

He also congratulated Archbishop Eamon on his new ministry.

“I note with enthusiasm that he has expressed the desire to share the friendship and passion for the Gospel of Christ with the other Christian traditions in Ireland and to encourage one another. We look forward to realising this within the inter–church structures”.

-Rev Donald Watts

Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he has known Archbishop Eamon Martin ‘for many years’.

“The next few years will be crucial for the Church and Archbishop Martin as he sets about restoring confidence in congregations throughout the country.

“I look forward to his official elevation to the position of Cardinal and Primate of all-Ireland.”