Pictures: Archbishop Dermot Farrell welcomes new Bishop of Ossory Niall Coll to Kilkenny

Archbishop Dermot Farrell, a previous bishop of this diocese, wished his successor well at the episcopal ordination of new Bishop Niall Coll at St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny on Sunday.

The archbishop said it was a great honour to come here to ordain Father Niall Coll as Bishop of Ossory.

"Today, in the Cathedral, in this church of the Shepherd’s chair, the Church in Ossory is particularly itself. Every family has its highpoints, and today, the Family of God in Ossory—the Church, lives a highpoint: you welcome your new bishop, you witness to his ordination, the formal beginning of his ministry. You give thanks, and put flesh on your faith and your hope. Today your cathedral is most truly what it was built for: the first Church of the diocese, its true centre," he said.

"We come to invoke the Holy Spirit on this priest, Niall Coll, called to the office of Bishop in the service of the Church of Ossory, to be a pastor in the midst of the people. Through the laying on of hands and the Prayer of Consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit will be bestowed on him so that he may carry forward the mission of Christ himself as teacher, shepherd and high priest, and can act in the person of Christ in a special way. Niall, the call is to love the people you serve, sanctify them, teach them, shepherd them."

He also thanked Bishop Denis Nulty for the manner in which he has led the diocese as Apostolic Administrator over the past two years, as well as to the priests, religious and lay leaders who shared in the mission of the Church.