Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns

Catholic diocese in Ireland

Diocese of Ferns

Dioecesis Fernensis

Deoise Fearna

Saint Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy

Location
Country| Republic of Ireland
Territory| Most of County Wexford and parts of County Wicklow
Ecclesiastical province| Province of Dublin
Metropolitan| Archdiocese of Dublin
Statistics
Area| 1,158 sq mi (3,000 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics| (as of 2019)
126,277
100,679 (79.7%)
Information
Denomination| Roman Catholic
Rite| Latin Rite
Established| 7th Century
Cathedral| St Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy
Patron saint| St Aidan
Current leadership
Pope| Francis
Bishop| Gerard Nash,
Bishop of Ferns
Metropolitan Archbishop| Dermot Farrell,
Archbishop of Dublin
Vicar General| Mgr Joseph McGrath
Bishops emeritus| Brendan Oliver Comiskey
Denis Brennan
Map
Website
ferns.ie

The Diocese of Ferns (Irish: Deoise Fhearna) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin.[1][2][3] The incumbent Ordinary is Gerard Nash.

## Geographical remit

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The See covers most of County Wexford and some of County Carlow and County Wicklow. The major towns are Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross and Wexford, along with its namesake town of Ferns.

It is a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.

## History

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W. H. Grattan Flood, author of the History of the Diocese of Ferns,[4] illustrates the origin of the Diocese, by stating:

> It is a far cry back to the year 598, when the See of Ferns was established, with St. Aedan (Mo-Aedh-og or Mogue) as first Bishop. During his episcopate thirty churches and numerous monasteries were founded. St. Ibar, St. Abban, St. Brendan, and St. Senan were also early labourers in the diocese. St. Aedan died on January 31, 630, leaving a fragrant memory behind him, and his episcopal See was known as Fearna-mor-Moedhoc."[5]

## Ordinaries

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Main article: Bishop of Ferns

The following is a list of the most recent post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops and vicars apostolic.[6][7]

* Thomas Furlong (1857–1875)
* Michael Warren (1876–1884)
* James Browne (1884–1917)
* William Codd (1917–1938)
* James Staunton (1938–1963)
* Donal Herlihy (1964–1983)
* Brendan Oliver Comiskey, SS.CC. (1984–2002)
* Denis Brennan (2006–2021)
* Gerard Nash (2021–present)

## Sex abuse controversy

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The October 2005 Report of the Ferns Inquiry has outlined the serious levels of clerical sex abuse in the diocese since the 1960s. It strongly criticised the former bishops of Ferns, Donal Herlihy and Brendan Comiskey for their inability to deal with the allegations of sexual abuse made against a number of priests. Comiskey resigned as Bishop on 1 April 2002.

## See also

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* St. Aidan's Cathedral
* Catholic Church in Ireland

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Diocese of Ferns. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
2. ^ Archdiocese of Dublin. Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
3. ^ Diocese of Ferns – Catholic Encyclopedia article. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
4. ^ Grattan Flood, History, title page.
5. ^ Grattan Flood, History, p. ix.
6. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 428–429. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
7. ^ Diocese of Ferns. Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved on 7 September 2009.

## Sources

[edit]

* Grattan Flood, W.H. History of the Diocese of Ferns. Waterford: Downey & Co., 1916.

## External links

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* Ferns.ie – Official site
* Diocese of Ferns (GCatholic.org)
* Catholic-Hierarchy.org – Diocese Profile
* Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ferns" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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* Knock Shrine
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