Archbishop Eamon Martin to serve as Primate of All Ireland

The new leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has pledged to lead it through a process of "humble renewal" without trying "to make sure that it dominates politics and the State".

Archbishop Eamon Martin succeeded Cardinal Sean Brady as Primate of All Ireland yesterday, taking over a leadership role which covers the 26 dioceses here and Northern Ireland.

The 52-year-old Derry native becomes the 116th Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in succession to St Patrick.

He said that even though people are living in a very fast world with many commitments, he believed "people still need God in their lives and they need their church. There is still a lot of hope in people that they would like a renewal of their church." But he cautioned against over optimism.

From and more on this at:  Irish Independent - Archbishop Eamon Martin