This week the Dominican Order marks 800 years of ministry in Kilkenny. To acknowledge this significant milestone, Kilkenny-based Bishop of Ossory, Bishop Niall Coll, has released the following statement:
“This week we honour the long and distinguished Dominican presence here in Kilkenny, and in doing so we call on the memory of Saint Dominic, born circa 1170AD in Spain, around whose witness, teaching and ministry the Dominican Order since developed over the centuries. The Dominicans, ‘Order of Friars Preachers’, the earliest sources say, were called to the work of ‘preaching and the salvation of souls’.
“I would like to underline that the Dominican charisms of preaching, of reaching out to people where they are, of deep scholarship of the bible, of philosophy and theology, are more important than ever today. Preachers, teachers, evangelisers, as Pope Francis constantly reminds us, are sorely needed to entreat and form the whole people of God anew to open our eyes to the beauty of Christ, to recognise the importance of the Gospel and the faith in Jesus Christ that it points to.
“On behalf of the people, religious and clergy of the Diocese of Ossory, I congratulate the Dominican priests, brothers and lay members on 800 years of service to the people of Kilkenny. Your prayer, preaching and community service have been an inspiration over the centuries. Your promotion of personal and family prayer, especially the Rosary, has helped to enhance Mary, the Mother of God, as a living presence in the community.”
Bishop Coll concluded, “May the Lord continue to bless the Dominican friars here in the Black Abbey and all the faithful who worship with you. In this, the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope – when Catholics around the world are celebrating the faith – let us pray with added fervour, that lives committed to the work of ‘preaching and the salvation of souls’ will endure here for many centuries to come.”
ENDS
- The Diocese of Ossory has forty-two parishes, includes most of the county of Kilkenny, parts of counties Laois and Offaly and covers 1,972 square kilometres. The patron saint of the diocese, and its first Bishop, was Saint Kieran of Saighir, who lived in the fifth century.
