FR DENIS NULTY has been ordained as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin at a ceremony in Carlow today attended by some 750 guests, including Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown and other members of the Catholic hierarchy.

The ceremony was also screened at the local parish centre and a nearby theatre to accommodate those unable to access the Cathederal. It was also streamed online via iCatholic.ie.

Nulty made reference during his ordination address to the tragic deaths of Eoghan and Ruairí Chada from nearby Ballinkillen. Nulty concelebrated the joint funeral for the boys on Friday alongside parish priest Declan Foley. He said today:

…how acutely aware we all are in recent days of that very need of one another, as evidenced by the small community of Ballinkillen out the road in Bagnalstown Parish as they surrounded Kathleen Chada and her family after the horrendous loss of Eoghan and Ruairí.

Our only role at this time is to extend the comfort of our prayers to all who are in any way affected by this tragedy.

Bishop Nulty said he also intended to reach out to the young during his tenure in the diocese, which covers virtually all of Carlow as well as parts of Kildare and surrounding counties:

I realise only too well I have so much to learn about this Diocese – about every one of the 56 parishes – and I look forward to visiting each parish, meeting those who keep Saint Brigid’s flame lit in their communities, listening to the young – the young whom Pope Francis left spellbound only a week ago on Copacabana Beach at World Youth Day.

Nulty entered the seminary at Maynooth in 1981, and was ordained a priest in 1988. He attained an MA in Pastoral and Voluntary Services from DCU in 2006. He takes over his new role following the resignation of James Moriarty in 2010.

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Read: ‘They lived with joy and energy’: Village united in grief at Chada brothers’ funeral