The new bishop of Meath and Kildare, the Rev. Pat (Patricia) Storey, has been rector of St. Augustine’s, Londonderry since 2004. Photo: ACNS /Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland has appointed its first female bishop. The Irish House of Bishops appointed the Rev. Pat (Patricia) Storey as the new Bishop of Meath and Kildare. She succeeds Bishop Richard Clarke, who is now Archbishop of Armagh.
The appointment was left to the House of Bishops after the Episcopal Electoral College failed to appoint a bishop for the dioceses when the college met in May.
Announcing the appointment of Bishop-elect Storey, Archbishop Clarke, Primate of All Ireland, said: “Having known Pat Storey since she was an undergraduate and I was chaplain at Trinity College, Dublin, I very much welcome her as a new bishop. She is a person of great warmth, intelligence and spiritual depth, and I am certain that her ministry in the dioceses of Meath and Kildare and the wider church will be a blessing to many.”
“I am both excited and daunted by this new adventure in our lives,” said Storey, who has been rector of St. Augustine’s, Londonderry since 2004. “I have had an extraordinarily happy experience in St. Augustine’s and in this wonderful city, which I will be sad to leave. However, I count it an enormous privilege to begin a new phase of my ministry with the people of Meath and Kildare, and I look forward to working with the team of clergy who are already there. I would sincerely ask for your prayers for myself and my family.”
The Anglican church in both Wales and Scotland has now cleared the way to appoint women as bishops but has not done so yet. The Church of England has had votes, but so far has not approved the appointment of women as bishops.