The Most Reverend Kieran O'Reilly S.M.A. |
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Archbishop of Cashel and Emly | |
Church | Roman Catholic Church |
Archdiocese | Cashel and Emly |
Appointed | 22 November 2014 |
Installed | 8 February 2015 |
Predecessor | Dermot Clifford |
Other posts | Bishop of Killaloe (2010-2015) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 17 June 1978 |
Consecration | 29 August 2010 by Dermot Clifford |
Personal details | |
Born |
Cork, Ireland |
8 August 1952
Nationality | Irish |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Kieran O’Reilly S.M.A. (born 8 August 1952) is the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. He was installed in the see on 8 February 2015 having been translated from the see of Killaloe.
O'Reilly was born in Cork in the Diocese of Cork and Ross in 1952. In 1970, he entered the noviciate of the Society of African Missions in Wilton, Cork.
He subsequently attended courses in philosophy and theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. In 1974 he was awarded a Bachelor's degree in Literature, then in theology in 1977 and in 1978 the Diploma in missionary studies. On 10 April 1977, with the perpetual vow, he became a permanent member of the Society of African Missions (SMA). He was ordained a priest on 17 June 1978.
After ordination he served for two years in pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Monrovia, Liberia. In 1980 he was sent to the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome, where he obtained in 1984, his Licentiate in Sacred Scripture. He was subsequently Professor of Biblical Studies at the seminary in Ibadan, Nigeria.
From 1990 to 1995 he was a member of the Provincial Council of the Irish Province of his Institute, based in Cork. In May 1995 he was elected Vicar General and in 2001, Superior General of the Society of African Missions, and was then reelected to a second term in 2007.
He was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Killaloe by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 May 2010. The speed with which a successor to Bishop Walsh was named is notable as it normally takes a year to name a new diocesan ordinary. At the time of his consecration he was Ireland's youngest-serving Bishop in Ireland. He was consecrated on 29 August 2010.