Fintan Gavin (born ) is an Irish

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 has served as

Bishop of Cork and Ross The Bishop of Cork and Ross is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Cork and the County Cork town of Rosscarbery in the Republic of Ireland. The combined title was first used by the Church of Ireland from 1638 to 1660 and ...

since 2019.

Early life and education

Gavin was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 1 January 1966, to Michael and Angela Gavin, and baptised in St Andrew's Church,

Westland Row Westland Row () is a street on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs along the east end of Trinity College Dublin. History Westland Row first appeared on maps in 1776. It was originally known ...

on 5 January. He grew up in Marino, where he played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

with St Vincent's GAA and was a member of Marino Athletic Club. Prior to his seminary formation in Holy Cross College, Gavin had begun training as a residential

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er in Our Lady's Hostel,

Eccles Street Eccles Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. History Eccles Street began on 6 March 1769 when Ambrose Eccles, Isaac-Ambrose Eccles leased three parcels of land in the area. The street is named after his family, including his grandfather Joh ...

, from September 1983 to August 1984. During his seminary formation, he trained at

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall (), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest building in the countr ...

, the Northlands addiction treatment counselling centre in Derry, and

St Patrick's University Hospital St Patrick's University Hospital () is a teaching hospital at Kilmainham in Dublin. The building, which is bounded by Steeven's Lane, Dublin, Steeven's Lane to the east, and Bow Lane West to the south, is managed by St Patrick’s Mental Health S ...

. Gavin 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 ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

for the

Archdiocese of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ire ...

by the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticise ...

, in the Church of the Holy Cross,

Clonliffe Clonliffe () is an area on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, between Ballybough and Drumcondra, Dublin, Drumcondra in the Dublin 3 postal district. Location Clonliffe Road, previously known as Fortick ...

, on 11 March 1990, and gained summer parish experience at Brentwood Cathedral,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. He was subsequently ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dublin by

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. ...

of Dublin, Éamonn Walsh, in St Vincent de Paul Church, Marino, on 7 June 1991.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Gavin's first pastoral assignment was as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

in Holy Redeemer parish,

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

, where he also served as a teacher at St Thomas' Community College and chaplain to St Gerard's Junior and Senior School, and completed a

higher diploma A higher diploma is an academic award in Iraq, Libya, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland and Oman. In Iraq, it is awarded one year after a bachelor's degree (i.e., not equivalent to a bachelor's degree). In Ireland it is a postgradu ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

. Gavin was appointed curate in Sacred Heart parish, Killinarden,

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

, in 1994, where he also served as a teacher at the local community school, while also gaining summer pastoral experience in

Coram, New York Coram is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States cen ...

between 1992 and 1995. Gavin moved to Rome in 1996 to complete a licentiate in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

in 1999, and subsequently a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 2002, with a specialisation in rotal jurisprudence. His published dissertation was taken in large part from uncredited sources, according to plagiarism researcher Michael Dougherty. In his 2024 book about plagiarism at the Gregorian University, a chapter is devoted to Gavin's "renovation plagiarism", which reportedly includes text copied from a dissertation on canon law submitted at

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washintgton, DC in 1938. During his time in Rome, he resided at the . During his postgraduate studies, Gavin assisted at parishes in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

through both summer and migrant ministries. Gavin also participated in the ministry of

Community of Sant'Egidio The Community of Sant'Egidio () is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, founded in 1968 under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi. The group grew and in 1973 was given a home at the former Carmelite monastery and church of ...

and collaborated with the community of and ministries led by local university students. He also gained summer pastoral experience in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, working with an indigenous community in

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

and accompanying a group of Italian university students on a mission experience in the Diocese of San Miguel. Gavin returned to Dublin in 2002, where he was appointed curate in St Andrew's Church,

. During his time in Westland Row, he collaborated in a pastoral initiative centred around inviting and encouraging those who had drifted away to return to the church. Gavin was appointed vice-chancellor of the

in 2003. He was appointed parish chaplain in Our Lady of Victories parish, Ballymun Road, in 2010, serving as part of the parish grouping centred around

Ballygall Ballygall () is a small suburban area located between Glasnevin and Finglas, on the northside of the city of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland divided between the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Finglas (ci ...

, Drumcondra and

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

. During his time in Our Lady of Victories parish, Gavin developed the parish gospel choir to lead a Sunday evening Mass in the parish that was aimed at young people. Gavin was subsequently appointed chaplain to the Italian-speaking community in the archdiocese in 2015 and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 2017. He also served as chaplain to the archdiocesan children's pilgrimage to Lourdes each Easter.

Episcopal ministry

Gavin was appointed Bishop-elect of Cork and Ross by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 8 April 2019. His appointment was seen as historic, as he was the first bishop not to have previously served as

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

since 1847, and the first bishop to be born outside the diocese since 1763. Gavin was consecrated by his predecessor, John Buckley, on 30 June in the

Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne The Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Anne (), also known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, The North Cathedral or The North Chapel, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at the top of Shandon Street in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. It is the Chair (off ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. He became the first bishop of the diocese to say a "station Mass" in November 2019. Ahead of the publication of a pastoral letter in August 2022 which outlined a restructuring of diocesan structures, Gavin stated in an interview with '' The Echo'' that while the Catholic Church had served Ireland well in some aspects, its previously dominant role in Irish society had led to corruption and a loss of focus on mission. He also emphasised the importance of greater lay involvement over a focus on the priesthood in the process of renewal.

References

External links

Bishop Fintan Gavin
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

Bishop Fintan Gavin
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Fintan Roman Catholic bishops of Cork and Ross Christian clergy from Dublin (city) 1966 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Alumni of Clonliffe College Alumni of University College Dublin Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Bishops appointed by Pope Francis