The remains of the retired Bishop of Elphin, Christopher Jones, are reposing today at the diocesan headquarters, St Mary’s in Temple Street in Sligo, until 6 o’clock this evening.
Eighty-two years old Bishop Jones passed away on Friday evening, having retired four years earlier.
Since then, various people have been recalling various aspects of Bishop Jones’s life.
Bishop Jones, or Bishop Christy as many people knew him, had presided over the Diocese of Elphin for more than 20 years.
But he also played many other roles: teacher, social worker, pastor, counsellor, and a friend to many, particularly those less well off, those on the margins of society and those struggling with difficulty.
Among those for whom he was a staunch advocate were members of the Traveller community.
When he returned to Sligo in 1965, there had been a fire in which a number of Travellers died.
About a year afterward, he was invited to a meeting to discuss what could be done to improve the quality of life for travellers.
Bishop Jones later told how he first decided to first drive out to Rathbraughan in Sligo to meet with Travellers who were living under canvas on the side of the road, in a tent filled with smoke.
He recalled that a although he had been a priest for six years, he had never visited a Traveller family before.
That visit was to make him a friend of Travellers for the rest of his life.
Today, Bernadette Maughan, of the Sligo Traveller Support Group, paid tribute to him:
Another lesser-known aspect of Bishop Jones’s life was his annual visits to the ancient monastic island of Inishmurray, off the North Sligo coast, where he celebrated Mass.
Boat owner Keith Clarke recalls those occasions, on which Bishop Jones departed on a boat with others from Mullaghmore:
