Michael Router is an Irish

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 lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who has served as auxiliary bishop of

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

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 Lugmad since 2019.

Early life and education

Router was born in Rahardrum,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, on 15 April 1965, one of three children to Anthony and Nora Router. He played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

for Ramor United and Killinkere, and attended primary school at Virginia National School and the Christian Brothers secondary school in Kells,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. Router began studying for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, in 1982, completing a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

and a

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

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Kilmore on 25 June 1989.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Router's first pastoral assignment was as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''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 w ...

in Killinkere, between 1989 and 1991. Between 1991 and 1996 he taught English, geography and religion at

St Patrick's College, Cavan Saint Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Padraig) is a Roman Catholic all-male secondary school. Located in County Cavan, Ireland. It was founded in 1871 as a minor and major seminary for the Diocese of Kilmore. It was officially opened by the B ...

, while also serving as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

and coaching basketball and Gaelic football. Router was appointed chaplain to

Bailieborough Community School Bailieborough Community School, alternatively spelled as Bailieboro, and commonly referred to as BCS, is a community school located in the town of Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland. The school was an amalgamation of two previous schools in th ...

, where he also coached basketball and Gaelic football, and resident priest in

Kilmainhamwood Kilmainhamwood, historically simply Killmainham (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) i ...

and Moybologue in 1996, before completing a Master of Religious Education at Mater Dei Institute of Education,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, between 2002 and 2003, during which time he was assistant priest in Our Lady of Good Counsel parish,

Drimnagh Drimnagh () is a suburb in Dublin, Ireland to the south of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordered by the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12. History Early to mediaeval Drimna ...

. Router returned to the Diocese of Kilmore in 2003, where he was appointed resident priest in Castletara (centred on

Ballyhaise Ballyhaise (; ) is a village in County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated some north-northeast of Cavan Town. It is approximately a 15-minute drive or 11 km via the N54 to the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The River Annalee ...

) and diocesan director of adult faith formation and pastoral renewal, where he was responsible for providing training, encouragement and support for parish pastoral councils, liturgy groups, Eucharistic ministers and Ministers of the Word. Router also facilitated the provision of adult religious education courses in the diocesan pastoral centre and in

Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the Iris ...

, which were accredited by the Mater Dei Institute of Education and the

Maryvale Institute Maryvale Institute is a college of further and higher education, an International Catholic Distance-Learning College for Catechesis, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education in Old Oscott, Great Barr, Birmingham, England. It specialises in t ...

. During his time in Ballyhaise, he also served as a selector for the local Gaelic football club between 2004 and 2012. It was during his time as diocesan director of adult faith formation and pastoral renewal that Router also wrote a religious affairs column for ''The Anglo-Celt'' and the ''Cavan Voice.'' He was appointed director of the diocesan pastoral centre in 2010, and curate in the

cathedral parish A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of Urney and Annagelliff (centred on

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

and

Butlersbridge Butlersbridge (), also Butler's Bridge, is a village in County Cavan in Ireland, north of Cavan town just off the N3 national primary road. It was previously a through-point on the N3, but was bypassed in 1999. The bridge in the village cro ...

), with responsibility for Butlersbridge, in 2013. Router was appointed parish priest in Killann (centred on Bailieborough and

Shercock Shercock ( ); ) is a small town situated in the east of County Cavan, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the population of the town was 588. Shercock is located at the intersection of the R162 and R178 regional roads. It sits on the shores of t ...

) and vicar forane for the Bailieborough deanery in 2014. He also served on the diocesan

college of consultors A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

and as chairman of the diocesan council of priests since 2017.

Episcopal ministry

Router was appointed auxiliary bishop-elect of

and titular bishop-elect of Lugmad by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 7 May 2019. He was consecrated by the

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in t ...

Eamon Martin Eamon Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is a prelate of the Catholic Church from Northern Ireland who has been Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland since 2014. Early life and education Martin was born in Derry, Northern Irela ...

, on 21 July in Saint Patrick's Cathedral,

. Router is currently based in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Router, Michael Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of Mater Dei Institute of Education People from County Cavan 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 1965 births

Early life and education

Presbyteral ministry

Episcopal ministry

References

External links