Noel Treanor
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| Denomination | Catholic |
|---|---|
| Senior posting | |
| See | Diocese of Down and Connor |
| Title | Bishop of Down and Connor |
| Period in office | 29 June 2008 - |
| Consecration | 29 June 2008 |
| Predecessor | Bishop Patrick Walsh |
| Successor | Bishop-Elect |
| Religious career | |
| Priestly ordination | 13 June 1976 |
| Previous bishoprics | none |
| Previous post | General Secretary of COMECE |
| Personal | |
| Date of birth | 25 December 1950 |
| Place of birth | Silverstream, Co Monaghan |
Noel Treanor, B.A., S.T.L., D.D., (born December 25, 1950) is the current Bishop-Elect of The Diocese of Down and Connor, in Northern Ireland. On 22 February 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Dr. Treanor as Bishop.
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[edit] Early life and education
Noel Treanor was born on 25 December 1950 at Silverstream, Co Monaghan, in the Parish of Tyholland in the Diocese of Clogher. He attended St Brigid’s National School, Leitrim, and completed his early education at St Mary’s C.B.S., Monaghan. He began, in 1968, his study of Arts and Philosophy at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, and later, in 1971, the study of Theology, achieving his Licentiate in Sacred Theology, with special commendation, in 1977.
[edit] Priest and work in Europe
Ordained priest on 13 June 1976 in the Cathedral of St Macartan, Clogher Diocese, Fr. Treanor was sent by his Bishop, Most Rev. Patrick Mulligan, to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome to pursue his studies of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Recalled in 1980 by the new Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph Duffy, he was appointed assistant in the Cathedral parish, with charge of the local Catholic Marriage Advisory Council.
From 1981 to 1985, he again pursued the study of theology in Rome, while at the same time serving as Prefect of Studies at the Irish College.
Having returned to his Diocese in 1985, he was appointed Director of Adult Education. He also organised the Diocesan Assembly of the clergy that was held in 1986 to promote pastoral renewal within the Diocese.
Fr. Treanor's next appointment was a curacy in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, where he also provided service at the general hospital and was active as a confessor at Lough Derg pilgrimage centre.
In 1989, he was sent to Brussels to work with COMECE. While deeply involved in the expanding endeavour of this Church body to project Christian values into the European process, he has continued to engage in pastoral work through contact with the English-speaking community in the city-centre. He has also published and lectured widely on European construction issues, the Church and Europe, and Church-State matters.
On 31 March 1993, Fr. Treanor was unanimously appointed Secretary General of COMECE for a three-year term and has been reappointed for several successive terms since then. On 18 May 1994 he was nominated Chaplain to His Holiness.
He is fluent in French, German, Spanish and Irish.[citation needed]
[edit] Bishop
| Styles of Noel Treanor |
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| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Lordship |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
On the 22 February 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Monsignor Treanor as Bishop of Down and Connor, in succession to Bishop Patrick Walsh, who has been Bishop of the Diocese since 1991.
His Eminence Cardinal Seán Brady spoke to press of his delight at Bishop-Elect Treanor's appointment:
I am very pleased to hear that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Mgr Noel Treanor to succeed Bishop Patrick Walsh as Bishop of Down and Connor. For over thirty years Monsignor Treanor has used his great qualities of heart and mind to serve the Church generously and effectively in different assignments in three countries. He has worked in parishes, both North and South of the border in his native diocese of Clogher. For four years he was part of the formation team in the Pontifical Irish College, Rome. More recently, over the past seventeen years he has worked in Brussels with great success as Secretary General of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the member countries of the European Union. I know that all of this experience will be invaluable to him as he takes up the work which the Holy Father is now entrusting to him. I look forward to working with him.
I wish Bishop Patrick Walsh many years of happiness and good health as he lays down the reins of office after twenty-five years of devoted service to the people of Down and Connor.
Monsignor Noel Treanor, who will become the 32nd Bishop of Down and Connor since the Dioceses joined in 1453, welcomed his new appointment:
Today marks an unexpected and new phase in my life. It opens an exciting perspective in many respects. At the same time it is a day of immense joy.
I come with great joy in my heart. I look forward to working in the service of Jesus Christ and his Gospel together with the priests, with the members of the religious orders and congregations and with the laity of this historic diocese.
As I look forward, I am keenly aware that I have much to learn about all aspects of life in Down and Connor. Knowing that I shall be on a learning curve for a considerable time, I am profoundly touched by the welcome extended to me by Bishop Patrick Walsh and by the warm and generous assurances of brotherly support assured to me by Bishop Tony Farquhar and Bishop Donal McKeown.
I recognise that I have been asked to succeed Bishop Walsh at a nodal moment in the life of Northern Ireland. There is promise in the air. New institutions are in place. Christians must lend their shoulders, their talents to building a society rooted in respect for the dignity of every human person and dedicated to pursuing justice for all, especially the underprivileged, the needy and the poor. A new society, politically, economically, socially and culturally vibrant, can be constructed through consensus: together with the priests and faithful of the diocese, I look forward to contributing to this challenging process.
So, I come to Down and Connor with a particular experience. I have much, almost all, to learn about the history of this great diocese, about the contemporary life of the Church and its contemporary societal context, about the ecumenical and inter-religious aspects of life here. I come with an open heart and mind.
I ask for the prayers of all the Catholic faithful - young and old - throughout the parishes of the diocese. I shall rely on the understanding and patience of the priests, so that together we may serve the people of God by proclaiming the Gospel, celebrating the sacraments and engaging in the work of charity in the face of human suffering and need.
Monsignor Treanor will be ordained Bishop of Down and Connor on 29th June 2008, in St. Peter's Cathedral, Belfast, by His Eminence Cardinal Seán Brady (Principal Consecrator), with Most Rev. Patrick Walsh and Most Rev. Joseph Duffy (Principal Co-Consecrators). The newly-ordained Bishop will take possession of the Diocese of Down and Connor on 29th June 2008, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
| Preceded by Bishop Patrick Walsh |
Bishop of Down and Connor 29 June 2008 – |
Succeeded by Bishop-Elect |
