Bishop Dermot Farrell of Ossory has issued a pastoral letter to the faithful of the diocese, entitled: Our Living Church. The letter outlines the changes that will occur in the diocese from 1st December 2019 and to effective pastoral ministry into the future.

Bishop Farrell has announced that there will be 13 pastoral areas established within the diocese. These groupings will permit our individual parishes to become stronger, more alive, and be in a position to offer an even greater level of service in their communities.

For the full pastoral letter issued by Bishop Farrell, click here.

Role of APC

What is a Pastoral Area?
A pastoral area is a group of neighbouring parishes which, in a spirit of mutual support and encouragement, work together in response to the pastoral needs of the area. Our Area Pastoral Council will include Ferrybank, Slieverue, Glenmore & Rosbercon.

What is the Area Pastoral Council?
The Area Pastoral Council is made up of priests and representatives from each parish within the pastoral area. Led by Fr. Kieran O’Shea, (Area Pastoral Co-Ordinator), this group works in partnership in the care of their communities in response to today’s needs, enabling new developments to take place at local level by discussing the needs of member parishes and possible ways of working together to respond to those needs.

Each APC will appoint a chairperson and a secretary. Meetings will be held on a regular basis. It is the task of the APC to identify the needs of the pastoral area and to draw up a plan to respond to those needs, informed by the diocesan vision and pastoral plan. The area pastoral council is also a forum for sharing information, organising shared training and events and supporting parishes.

Who are the members of the APC?
The Area Pastoral Council consists of the Pastoral Area Co-Ordinator for the Pastoral area (appointed by the Bishop), each of the priests of the member parishes and 2-3 lay representatives of pastoral councils from each of the member parishes.