Brian Farrell (bishop)

Styles of Brian Farrell
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop
Posthumous style	none

Brian Farrell L.C. (born 8 February 1944) is an Irish Catholic bishop and currently Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.^[1] Within the Council he is Vice-President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.^[2]

Bishop Farrell was born in Dublin, Ireland. He joined the Legion of Christ in 1961 and was ordained a priest on 26 November 1969 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome. From 1970 to 1976 he was the novice director in the Legionary seminary in Orange, Connecticut. He obtained his licentiate in philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University and his licentiate in theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and in 1981 earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. From 1981 to 2002 he served the Vatican's Secretariat of State, from 1999 as head of the English desk in the Office of General Affairs.^[3][4][5]

On 19 December 2002 he was appointed Titular Bishop of the titular see of Abitinae under Cardinal Walter Kasper and was named Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He was consecrated Bishop of Abitinae on 6 January 2003 by Pope John Paul II; his principal co-consecrators were Archbishops Leonardo Sandri and Antonio Maria Vegliò.^[1]

In 2003 Bishop Farrell contributed an article to the catalogue for "The Tension of Origin,"^[6] an exhibition of works by Italian artist Giovanni Bonaldi which engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue through artistic expression.

In 2010 Bishop Farrell was one of four advisors to Archbishop Velasio De Paolis during his task as Papal Delegate to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, and assisted him in fulfilling his duties in the reorganisation of the Mexican congregation.^[7] In 2015 he ordained twenty new Legionaries of Christ deacons.^[8]

Bishop Farrell is the older brother of Kevin Farrell, whom Pope Francis appointed in August 2016 the first Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.^[9]

External links

• Bishop Brian Farrell: Quest for Christian Unity: Where It Stands 2004 Interview With Bishop Farrell, Secretary of Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

References

1. "Bishop Brian Farrell, L.C.". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
2. "The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable". vatican.va. December 10, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
3. "A Missionary Church in a Divided World". regnumchristi.org. June 23, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
4. "Legionary Is New Secretary of Council for Christian Unity". Zenit News Agency. December 19, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
5. John L. Allen, Jr. (18 December 2007). All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks. Crown Publishing Group. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-307-42349-8. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
6. The Tension of Origin, curated by Pierangelo Sequeri and Nadine Shenkar, 2003. Giovanni Bonaldi L'origine tesa / The Tension of Origin, archived from the original on 2 March 2014, retrieved January 26, 2016
7. "Delegate's Letter to Legionaries of Christ". Zenit News Agency. October 23, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
8. "Bishop Brian Farrell, LC, ordains 20 Legionaries of Christ deacons in Rome". Zenit News Agency. May 3, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
9. Gaetan, Victor (March 26, 2015). "The Bishops Farrell: An Answer to an Irish Mother's Prayers". National Catholic Register. Retrieved January 26, 2016.