William Crean (born 16 December 1951) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishop in Ireland. He has been the

Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with oth ...

since 2013.

Early life and education

William Crean was born in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

, the son of Patrick and Margaret Crean (née O'Donnell). He was educated at St. Brendan's College, Killarney, before proceeding to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

for studies for the priesthood. He undertook his theological studies in Rome residing at the Pontifical Irish College, Rome, while completing his studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. He went on to obtain his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1977.

Priestly Ministry

Crean was ordained as a priest in 1976 for service in the Diocese of Kerry. He was intimately involved in education as chaplain in Killorglin (1977-1980), chaplain in Tarbert Comprehensive School (1983-1986), and Diocesan Advisor to Post-Primary Schools/Director of Adult Religious Education (1987-1996). He moved into full-time parish ministry and served a six-year term as parish priest of

Cahersiveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town on the N70 national secondary road in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2016 CSO census, the town had a population of 1,041. Geography Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-metre-high Bentee, an ...

, until it was announced in 2012 that he was to be the Bishop of Cloyne.

Episcopal Ministry

On 24 November 2012, it was announced that Crean would be the next

. He was consecrated a bishop on 27 January 2013: the

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was Archbishop Charles Brown

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to Ireland.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crean, William Roman Catholic bishops of Cloyne 1961 births Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 21st-century Irish bishops