THE Diocese of Limerick must prepare for a “new journey” that will require it to face challenges.
That’s according to the Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy following his return from Pope Francis’ first session of Synod 2021-2024 in Rome.
Bishop Leahy was one of just 365 delegates to attend the month-long gathering to help chart the future of the Church.
Addressing last weekend’s mass at St. John’s Cathedral and in a letter distributed across to parishes across the diocese, Bishop Leahy revealed that the Diocese has recently completed a ‘Diocesan Overview’ for Limerick, which will be published next weekend and illustrates the work being done and also outlines the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead too.
The Diocesan Overview shows that there are over 2,500 volunteers helping out in various ways across the 60 parishes and 16 pastoral units served by the Diocese.
The overview also shows that there are 88 diocesan priests and nine priests from abroad.
The diocese provides 436 masses a week, with 168 of these on weekends.
There are 150,000 baptised Catholics in the diocese, with 15,600 weekly mass goers.
There are 102 primary schools under Catholic patronage and last year some 4,300 children celebrated either Communion for the First time or Confirmation.
A total of 365 marriages were celebrated in churches in the Diocese last year, while 263 young people were involved were involved in youth programmes this year, with 107 school retreats taking place.
“Synod is about journeying together. We are indeed, as a Diocese, on a journey, all of us. As a Diocese we, too, can look forward with hope to the next steps God wants us to take. We have much to be grateful for,” Bishop Leahy said.
“We have recently carried out an Overview of our diocese, looking at the immense work that is done, where it is being done, the resources we need to continue this and plotting our way forward from that. The process has been a hugely positive one as it has reaffirmed to us where, as Missionaries of Christ, we are. It’s about the great work, the love, the care but the numbers do support this.”
“As we move ahead, we need to have conversations across the diocese about how best to arrange things for the future,” the Bishop concluded.
