Patrick O'Donoghue was born in Mourne Abbey, Co Cork, on 4th May 1934, and is the middle of five children [three girls, two boys] of farmers Daniel and Sheila O'Donoghue.
He was educated at the Patrician Academy in Mallow, Co Cork. He came to Britain in 1959 for seminary training, first at Campion House, Osterley, Middlesex, then from 1961-67 at Allen Hall seminary when it was at St Edmund's, Ware, Hertfordshire. He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Westminster on 25th May 1967. The Second Vatican Council coincided with his student days as a seminarian, and its spirit and teaching have influenced and directed his ministry through the years.
As a newly ordained priest he worked in the parish of Our Lady of Willesden from 1967-70. He was on the Diocesan Pastoral Mission Team from 1970-73, where he gained experience in 27 parishes in the Archdiocese. From 1973-77 he was Pastoral Director at Allen Hall Seminary in Chelsea. From 1977-78 he was with the team ministry at the parish of St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham. His varied experience led to the conviction that renewal at every level in the Church was urgently called for, combined with a need to grapple with the new challenges facing the Church, preaching the Gospel in a fast-changing world.
Bishop O'Donoghue was Sub-Administrator of Westminster Cathedral from 1978-85, and Administrator from 1990-93. In between times he was Rector of Allen Hall Seminary from 1985-90. Twenty years spent in the Seminary and at the Cathedral further heightened his desire for change. But there were other challenges too, especially inner-city life with its extraordinary wealth and search for, or absence of, faith, and all too much poverty [street homeless, addicts, dispossessed, young and elderly]. It was necessary for the Church to champion the poor, and to this end he and others established The Cardinal Hume and Passage Centres, which continue to flourish.
He is a former Chair of the Archdiocese of Westminster Senate of Priests. He was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Westminster by his friend and mentor Cardinal Basil Hume on 29th June 1993, and was appointed to the West London Pastoral Area. During the past eight years he has given himself to the pastoral care of its 41 culturally-mixed parishes. He simultaneously worked among the more disadvantaged of our society, retaining his contact with the Passage Day Centre, where he is Chair of Trustees.
Bishop Patrick has been Chairman of the Westminster Diocesan Pastoral Board since 1996 and Chairman of the English and Welsh Bishops' Committee for Migrants since 1993. He has been constantly to the fore, not least in the media, in advancing the cause of this most vulnerable section of our community. In May 2001 he launched a strongly-worded document "Any Room at the Inn? - Reflections on Asylum Seekers". He wrote this to mark the 50th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, and specifically in the run-up to the General Election. Earlier this year he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. For him, working with other Christians and people of other faiths is a priority.
Bishop O'Donoghue has a special interest in contemporary religious art, particularly in its value as an aid to prayer and as part of the liturgy. He has been instrumental in staging exhibitions at Westminster Cathedral. He lists his hobbies as theatre, football, and country walking.
On hearing of his appointment to his new challenge as Bishop of Lancaster, a Diocese which stretches from Preston in Central Lancashire to the Scottish Border, and takes in the whole of the Lake District and the West Cumbrian Coast, he had this to say:
"My appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Lancaster comes as a big surprise: in my wildest dreams I had not really expected this appointment. Of course, it's a huge joy and honour to be chosen by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, to serve the Church in Lancaster. The North West is a beautiful part of the country, and I've been there many times as a tourist and hiker. Now I come as a pilgrim and one who desires only one thing, and that is to learn and to serve. I know something of the traditional faith of the people: it will be my privilege to share in this and to confirm it. It will be difficult leaving Westminster, where I have spent 40 years as student, priest and bishop. I will carry with me great memories of the City and Diocese, but most of all the friendships that were mine in this multi-cultural society. My motto as Bishop of Lancaster will be 'Beati pauperes' ['Blessed are the poor'], a quote from Luke's Gospel [Lk 6.20]. I humbly ask your prayers."
Bishop Patrick was officially Installed as Bishop of Lancaster at a special Mass in Lancaster Cathedral on Wednesday 4th July. Archbishop Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool, presided. His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, preached at the Mass.
