| Jurisdiction: | Diocese |
| Ferns | |
| Latin: | Dioecesis Fernensis |
| Local: | Deoise Fearna |
| Country: | Republic of Ireland |
| Metropolitan: | Archdiocese of Dublin |
| Territory: | Most of County Wexford and parts of County Wicklow |
| Province: | Province of Dublin |
| Area Sqmi: | 1158 |
| Population: | 126,277 |
| Population As Of: | 2019 |
| Catholics: | 100,679 |
| Catholics Percent: | 79.7 |
| Denomination: | Roman Catholic |
| Rite: | Latin Rite |
| Established: | 7th Century |
| Cathedral: | St Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy |
| Patron: | St Aidan |
| Bishop: | Gerard Nash, Bishop of Ferns |
| Metro Archbishop: | Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin |
| Vicar General: | Mgr Joseph McGrath |
| Emeritus Bishops: | Brendan Oliver Comiskey Denis Brennan |
| Map: | Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns map.png |
| Website: | ferns.ie |
The Diocese of Ferns (Irish: Deoise Fhearna) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin.[1] [2] [3] The incumbent Ordinary is Gerard Nash.
The See covers most of County Wexford and some of County Carlow and County Wicklow. The major towns are Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross and Wexford, along with its namesake town of Ferns.
It is a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
W. H. Grattan Flood, author of the History of the Diocese of Ferns,[4] illustrates the origin of the Diocese, by stating:
See main article: Bishop of Ferns. The following is a list of the most recent post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops and vicars apostolic.[5] [6]
The October 2005 Report of the Ferns Inquiry has outlined the serious levels of clerical sex abuse in the diocese since the 1960s. It strongly criticised the former bishops of Ferns, Donal Herlihy and Brendan Comiskey for their inability to deal with the allegations of sexual abuse made against a number of priests. Comiskey resigned as Bishop on 1 April 2002.