A reduction in the number of bishops in the West of Ireland is part of the most radical restructuring of Irish Church governance in nine centuries.
The key changes made in a 10 April announcement by Argentinian-born Archbishop Luis Montemayorm, Papal Nuncio to Ireland, and which mark the biggest change in diocesan structures since the 12th century, will see the number of bishops in the region halved from six to three.
The Papal Nuncio has confirmed that there may be movement towards actual amalgamation of dioceses. This continues a trend already seen in Northern Ireland, where Dromore is without a bishop and is being run from Armagh.
