By Sarah Mac Donald - 18 August, 2020
Archbishop Michael F. Crotty.
The episcopal ordination of Monsignor Michael F. Crotty at St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh on Saturday has been described as “a truly historic and auspicious occasion” for the Diocese of Cloyne.
The ceremony marked the first time an Apostolic Nuncio was ordained in Cloyne’s Cathedral Church and Archbishop Crotty is the first priest of the Diocese of Cloyne to have been appointed as an Apostolic Nuncio.
The 50-year-old Mitchelstown, Co Cork native was to have been ordained Archbishop in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican last March by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, but the ceremony was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The principal ordaining bishop on the Feast of the Assumption in Co Cork was Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States.
He was assisted by Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly of Cashel & Emly, Archbishop Patrick Coveney, retired Apostolic Nuncio, Bishop William Crean of Cloyne and several other bishops from the Irish hierarchy.
Archbishop Crotty was ordained a priest in St Colman’s Cathedral on 3 July 1994.
Last February, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Crotty as Apostolic Nuncio to Burkina Faso and at the same time elevated him the position Archbishop, appointing him to the titular See of Lindisfarne.
On 25 April last, Pope Francis also appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Niger.
The new archbishop holds a licentiate in canon law and a doctorate in ecclesiastical history, both from the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome.
He speaks a number of languages including Irish, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Msgr Crotty will represent the Pope in Burkina Faso, a country the UN has indicated could become “another Syria” due to a protracted conflict with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State-linked insurgents known as Ansaroul Islam and the Support Group to Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
Archbishop Crotty has served in the Vatican’s diplomatic service since 2001.
Between 2001 and 2004, he was Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya, Nairobi, and Deputy Head of Mission of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) and UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme).
Between 2004 and 2007, he served as First Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Canada, Ottawa.
From 2007 to 2009, he worked as First Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciatures in Iraq (Baghdad) and Jordan (Amman).
Between 2009 and 2017, Msgr Crotty acted as an official in the Vatican’s Section for Relations with States at the Holy See’s Secretariat of State.
He worked as First Counsellor of the Apostolic Nunciature in Spain between 2017 and 2020.
