A new Bishop has been appointed to the Dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnois.
His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed Father Paul Connell, to the role.
Bishop Paul Connell, a native of Mullingar, succeeds Bishop Francis Duffy who is now the Arch Bishop of the Dioceses of Tuam.
Bishop elect Connell was ordained to the priesthood in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar, on 20 June 1982.
Following ordination, he was briefly attached to Rochfortbridge parish before being appointed to the staff of Saint Finian’s College where he became Vice-President of the College in 1989 and succeeded as President and Principal in 1998.
In 2020, he was appointed as Chancellor of the Diocese of Meath.
In the past he has held the position of chaplain in Saint Mary’s Hospital, Mullingar and for many years during the summer months he has worked in the dioceses of All Saints and Saint Gabriel’s in the Archdiocese of Miami, USA, and more recently in the parish of Saint Gregory, San Diego.
In August 2021 he was appointed as Administrator of the Parish of Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath.
The Dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise covers a number of counties including parts of Sligo and Leitrim as well as Longford, Cavan, Offaly, Roscommon, and Westmeath.
