On 10th April 2024, Bishop Kevin Doran was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Achonry, while remaining Bishop of Elphin. The Apostolic Nuncio said “To meet the evolving needs of the Church in the ecclesiastical Province of Tuam, it is necessary to envisage a gradual process of reorganisation, which will, it is hoped, give added impetus and vitality to the communities concerned. In due time, and following careful assessment and consultation, the present Dioceses of Tuam and Killala on the one hand, and Elphin and Achonry on the other, may be governed by one Bishop in each case, just as the Dioceses of Galway and Clonfert are today governed by one Bishop. If this process evolves still further, the associated Dioceses may then merge fully under their Bishop, and, in this way, the six Dioceses in the Province of Tuam will eventually become three”.
On 16th February 2025, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Kevin as Bishop of Achonry while remaining Bishop of Elphin, thereby joining the two dioceses of Achonry and Elphin “in persona episcopi” (in the person of the bishop). Bishop Kevin was installed as Bishop of Achonry on 30th March 2025.
In every Diocese the Bishop is called to be a sign and a means of unity. It is his responsibility to gather together the people of God. When two Dioceses are joined like this “in the person of the Bishop”, it tells us that the two Dioceses have a unique relationship which goes beyond just being close neighbours. Through his ministry of teaching, administration and celebrating the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Bishop is called to be a sign and a servant of that new and deeper communion. Each Diocese still retains its own unique identity, but gradually over the next few years, while respecting the culture and the history and the unique gifts of each, the two dioceses will become one diocese.