The new bishop of the Catholic diocese of Raphoe, which covers most of County Donegal, will be ordained during a special Mass on Sunday next in Letterkenny.
The ceremony, in the Cathedral of Saints Eunan and Columba, will take place at 3pm.
Monsignor Alan McGuckian, a Jesuit priest who is a native of County Antrim, will be ordained as Bishop of Raphoe during a ceremony that will include leading clergy from throughout the country.
The chief ordaining prelate will be the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, Eamon Martin.
Among the almost two dozen archbishops and bishops attending will be the outoing Bishop of Raphoe, Philip Boyce; Archbishop Terence Prendergast from Ottawa, Canada; Fr Leonard Moloney, Provincial of the Jesuits in Ireland; as well as Bishop McGuckian’s two brothers, Fr Bernard and Fr Michael.
Aged sixty-four, Fr McGuckian was born in Cloughmills, Co Antrim, the youngest of six children.
A lover of the Irish language, he has been a regualr visitor to the Donegal Gaeltacht.
After his ordination Mass this Sunday afternoon, the new bishop will greet members of his new congregation at the front door of the cathedral.
