Daniel Joseph Mullins (10 July 1929 – 1 November 2019) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who served as the

Bishop of Menevia The Bishop of Menevia was the ordinary of the Diocese of Menevia in the Province of Cardiff in the Catholic Church in Wales. The Diocese of Menevia covered an area of roughly consisting of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, ...

from 1987 to 2001.

Biography

Born in

Kilfinane Kilfinnane or Kilfinane () ( or , ) is a small market town in County Limerick, Ireland. The town's name comes from the Irish (church) and (Finnian), making its meaning "Church of Saint Finnian". Kilfinnane is located approximately 40&nbs ...

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, on 10 July 1929, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 12 April 1953. He was educated in

Mount Melleray Abbey Mount Melleray Abbey () is a Trappist monastery in Ireland, founded in 1833. It is situated on the slopes of the Knockmealdown Mountains, near Cappoquin, Diocese of Waterford. It closed in 2025. History The Cistercian order itself dates back ...

, Waterford, and then

St Mary's College, Aberystwyth St Mary's College () was a Roman Catholic seminary in Aberystwyth, Wales, in the United Kingdom. It was the only Roman Catholic diocesan seminary founded in Wales. Also, as it trained priests in the Welsh language, it was the only post-reformatio ...

, where he also learnt Welsh - a rare talent for Catholic priests in Wales-, and also

University College Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. He gained a double First-class BA honours degree in Welsh. He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary's Oscott in Birmingham. He was appointed an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of '' Sidnacestre'' on 5 February 1970 having previously been mistakenly assigned the already occupied title of Glastonbury. His

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

took place on 1 April 1970, 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 John Murphy of Cardiff, and the principal co-consecrators were Archbishop

George Dwyer George Patrick Dwyer (25 September 1908 – 17 September 1987) was an English prelate and the Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, England. Dwyer served as the sixth Archbishop of Birmingham from 1965 to 1981, ...

of Birmingham and Bishop John Petit of Menevia. He was appointed the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Menevia The Diocese of Menevia () was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It was one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and was subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff, until it merged with the archd ...

on 12 February 1987. He resigned on 12 June 2001 and assumed the title Bishop

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Menevia. He died on 1 November 2019, at the age of 90, in

Whitland Whitland (, , or , , from the medieval ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Geography The Whitland Community (Wales), community is bordered by the communities of: Henllanfallteg; Llanboidy; and Eglwyscummin, a ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

References

External links

* 1929 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Wales 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Wales Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Christian clergy from County Limerick Roman Catholic bishops of Menevia Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops People educated at Mount Melleray School {{Europe-RC-bishop-stub