19 Facts About Fintan Gavin

Fintan Gavin was born on 1 January 1966 and is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Cork and Ross since 2019.

Fintan Gavin grew up in Marino, where he played hurling and football with St Vincent's GAA and was a member of Marino Athletic Club.

Fintan Gavin was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of Dublin by the Archbishop of Dublin, Desmond Connell, in the Church of the Holy Cross, Clonliffe, on 11 March 1990, and gained summer parish experience at Brentwood Cathedral, Essex.

Fintan Gavin was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dublin by Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Eamonn Walsh, in St Vincent de Paul Church, Marino, on 7 June 1991.

Fintan Gavin was appointed curate in Sacred Heart parish, Killinarden, Tallaght, in 1994, where he served as a teacher at the local community school, while gaining summer pastoral experience in Coram, New York between 1992 and 1995.

Fintan Gavin moved to Rome in 1996 to complete a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1999, and subsequently a doctorate in 2002, with a specialisation in rotal jurisprudence.

Fintan Gavin's published dissertation was taken in large part from uncredited sources, according to plagiarism researcher Michael Dougherty.

Fintan Gavin participated in the ministry of Community of Sant'Egidio and collaborated with the community of Missionarie di Cristo Risorto and ministries led by local university students.

Fintan Gavin gained summer pastoral experience in Argentina, working with an indigenous community in Patagonia and accompanying a group of Italian university students on a mission experience in the Diocese of San Miguel.

Fintan Gavin returned to Dublin in 2002, where he was appointed curate in St Andrew's Church, Westland Row.

Fintan Gavin was appointed vice-chancellor of the Archdiocese of Dublin in 2003.

Fintan Gavin was appointed parish chaplain in Our Lady of Victories parish, Ballymun Road, in 2010, serving as part of the parish grouping centred around Ballygall, Drumcondra and Glasnevin.

Fintan Gavin was appointed chaplain to the Italian-speaking community in the archdiocese in 2015 and chancellor in 2017.

Fintan Gavin served as chaplain to the archdiocesan children's pilgrimage to Lourdes each Easter.

Fintan Gavin was appointed Bishop-elect of Cork and Ross by Pope Francis on 8 April 2019.

Fintan Gavin's appointment was seen as historic, as he was the first bishop not to have previously served as auxiliary or coadjutor bishop since 1847, and the first bishop to be born outside the diocese since 1763.

Fintan Gavin 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, Fintan 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.

Fintan Gavin emphasised the importance of greater lay involvement over a focus on the priesthood in the process of renewal.