Day in the Life – Bishop Adrian Wilkinson

Bishop Adrian Wilkinson is the new Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory.  His diocese includes counties Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow, Waterford, as well as parts of Tipperary, Laois, and Wicklow.

From Enniscorthy in County Wexford, Bishop Adrian Wilkinson was born in 1968 and was ordained in 1994.  He initially served as Curate in Douglas Union with Frankfield, in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (1994–1997), and then as Rector of Dunboyne Union, in the Diocese of Meath and Kildare (1997–2002), during which time he was also Chaplain at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and a Minor Canon in the Chapter of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. 

He was also Rector of Rathmolyon with Castlerickard, Rathcore and Agher, in the same diocese (2001–2002), before returning to Douglas Union as Rector in 2002 and serving in that role since then. He was appointed Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross since 2014. 

Bishop Wilkinson is married to Jacqui, who is a lecturer in teacher education at Dublin City University, and they have three grown–up children – two sons and a daughter. 

Here is a glimpse into his world…

Bishop Adrian, you were enthroned in each of the six cathedrals in your diocese. Tell us about your enthronement?

When I was elected Bishop for Cashel, Ferns and Ossory, I was first consecrated in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin on October 30, as it is the Metropolitan Cathedral for the southern province in the Church of Ireland.

I was then enthroned in my six different cathedrals over several weeks. I left the Kilkenny enthronement to last.  It was like the end of my journey around the diocese. On my very first Sunday as Bishop, I visited places where St Kieran and St Canice started their ministry, and I ended back here in Kilkenny in the main Cathedral that is associated with both those two saints.

Bishop Coll had just been appointed and I attended his ordination. A few weeks later I was able to invite him to my enthronement here in St Canice’s and it was wonderful to have him there. The Mayor of Kilkenny, David Fitzgerald also attended, and Dean Stephen Farrell led the service. I had several family and friends present, but it was also wonderful to see a full cathedral with people from across all the dioceses.

Do you get a choice of which parish you live in?

No, the Bishop lives here in Kilkenny in the Bishop’s House. It is beside the former Bishop's Palace, which is now the headquarters of the  Heritage Council.

Bishop Adrian Wilkinson and his wife Jacqui 

You lived the best part of 20 years in Cork. What are the major differences that stand out to you here in your new home of Kilkenny?

Well, I grew up in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, so I knew Kilkenny and it was a place we would often visit. Even when I lived in Cork, my wife and I quite often visited here, if we had a day off or if we wanted to take an overnight break away somewhere. We knew Kilkenny as tourists. We loved the medieval city with all the different restaurants and interesting places to see. Little did we ever think that we would be living here.

Our home is in Troy’s Gate, in the shadow of St. Canice’s Cathedral. So, we enjoy all the benefits of a wonderful vibrant city like Kilkenny and love it.

The very first weekend we arrived; the Savour Kilkenny food festival was on. Since October, there has been a Christmas festival and St Patrick's festival, which I was on the review stand for. I look forward to all the Kilkenny events ahead of us over the summer.

We are also lucky to have St Canice’s Cathedral on our doorstep. It's a beautiful Norman building with its lovely round tower. It’s a wonderful space when you have a large service but also for a service with a very small number of people. There are  side chapels and areas that you can go to for peace and quiet to  pray and reflect.

When you were asked to be bishop, is the process similar to the Roman Catholic church where the appointment of bishops is a bit like the appointment of judges, i.e., you don't apply, and you don't know that you are appointed?

It's slightly different with us in that we are a democratic church, so the people have a say. When a diocese becomes vacant , the elected clergy and people from that diocese and from the wider church meet to  discuss the needs of the Diocese. It's all done very confidentially. When potential candidates are discussed, you might get approached so that you let your name go forward. The process needs a few names and there is an election.

I was invited to allow my name to be entered for consideration. I thought the spotlight would fall on other people and not me, but at the end of it, I was elected and asked to come here. You feel prayerfully that you have the will of the people (the clergy and the lay people) who have elected you.

Bishop Adrian with Kells parishioners at Kells Priory in March 2023

Holy week is upon us. What have you planned for your services?

The build up to Easter is very important. On Thursday the clergy and other people involved in the ministry across the diocese gather here in St Canice's. We have a special Eucharist at 11 o'clock, and at that service oils (the chrism oil, the baptism oil, the oil of healing) are blessed. The clergy then take those oils back with them back to their parishes after the service.

It's also time that the clergy renew their ordination vows, so it’s also an occasion for them to come together, to recommit themselves for the year ahead. Lay people come to the service as well, it's not just for the clergy.

I am in St Canice's Cathedral for Good Friday. We will observe the three hours between 12 noon and 3pm, the traditional time when we remember Jesus on the cross. There will be services of prayer, reflection, music, reading the Passion narrative, and I'll be giving a series of short reflections.

On Easter Sunday morning I start very early in Stradbally for a dawn open air Eucharist beside the lake in Stradbally Hall. This is a tradition in their parish for many years where they meet in the open air first thing at sunrise. I hope the rain will keep away! As the sun begins to rise, we will remember the resurrection of Jesus.

Later in the morning, I'm back here in St Canice’s, for the Easter Day Choral Eucharist and there will also be a baptism of a little baby boy called Gordon. I'm looking forward to it.

So, I will start the day very early in the darkness as I drive to Stradbally and then back here to Kilkenny for the mid-morning Eucharist and then I have the rest of the day easy with family and our grown-up children will be coming home for Easter dinner and the bank holiday.

Do you ever see the Catholic church allowing priests to marry?

That is an issue for the Catholic church, I couldn't comment on it. All I can say is that marriage brings great blessings, and support with my ministry. My wife Jacqui works as well, she's an academic. She's a lecturer in Dublin City University and has a busy career with teacher education. She was a primary school teacher herself, and she lectures there as a specialist in RE.

I have a grown-up family now, but it meant that I was at the school and at the playground gates when the kids were small. It enriched my life, my ministry, and my parish life, and it still enriches my ministry.

Do you ever envisage an Ireland that will be Christian rather than the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church?

I want to think Ireland is changing all the time and we are a pluralist society now with many kinds of different religions. We've been enriched by people coming from different religions and cultural backgrounds into Ireland. So, I don't think it will ever be a monochrome Ireland again.

What I would love to see is the Christian churches working closely together. I know Bishop Coll, and I think that the Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland have come much closer together in recent decades. I think Christians do all that they can together in common witness, to try and reach out to people and bring the Christian message to them of hope and love centred on the resurrection of Jesus celebrated at Easter.

So, I would like to think that Christians work together. It is a changing, evolving Ireland and I think that the Christian church is stronger when we do things together, recognizing that Ireland will never be a monochrome culture or society again.

What is your Easter message?

My Easter message is one of hope and joy, that darkness doesn't win, that light always wins. Jesus is risen and that is the great hope that the world needs to hear. This life is not all that there is. There is hope for eternity, God's love is for everybody.

Personally, I would like to add how much I am enjoying living in Kilkenny and I am looking forward to getting to know people as I get involved in more things here.

I would like to wish everybody a very Happy Easter this weekend and to remind them that St Canice’s is always open for people to visit and pray. It's a wonderful place for people to sit and hopefully to experience something of the presence of Christ in that ancient building.