Born: December 25th, 1950
Died: August 11th, 2024
Archbishop Noël Treanor, the Irish-born apostolic nuncio to the European Union (EU) and former bishop of Down and Connor, the largest Catholic diocese in the North, died suddenly in August aged 73.
Based in Brussels since his appointment to the most senior diplomatic role of the Catholic Church in the EU by Pope Francis in 2022, Archbishop Treanor also served as secretary general of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) from 1993 to 2008 and its vice-president from 2018 to 2022.
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From 2018 to 2022, he was also president of Justice and Peace Europe, a European network of national justice and peace commissions mandated by Catholic bishops to fight against poverty and speak out on human rights, peace, reconciliation and the care of creation.
A gifted speaker and talented diplomat, Archbishop Treanor was also an accomplished linguist fluent in Italian, French, German and Spanish. “Archbishop Treanor will be remembered as a tremendously gifted academic, a proficient modern linguist and a highly skilled diplomat,” said the current bishop of Down and Connor, Bishop Alan McGuckian.
When he was appointed bishop of Down and Connor in 2008, many commentators saw this as a stepping stone to become the Catholic archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland. But in 2012 he accused Ian Elliott, the chief executive of the Catholic church’s child protection watchdog, the National Board for Safeguarding Children, at Maynooth of “spinning to the media against the bishops on child protection”.
Patsy McGarry, former religious affairs correspondent for The Irish Times, recalls how an independent inquiry was set up under Justice Catherine McGuinness, who found no evidence that Mr Elliott had been spinning to the media against the bishops. “Bishop Treanor then apologised but the damage had been done. It left him open to the charge of bad judgment which, many believe, cost him the primacy of all Ireland,” said McGarry.
[ Papal tribute to Archbishop Treanor shared with mourners at his funeralOpens in new window ]
In 2013, the then administrator of Derry diocese, Eamon Martin, was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Armagh, with the right to succeed Cardinal Brady when he retired in 2014. Bishop Treanor continued to be bishop of Down and Connor until his move to Brussels in 2022.
Throughout his time as bishop of Down and Connor, he spoke out on a number of issues including the Lisbon Treaty (calling on Catholics to vote Yes), marriage equality (calling for protection of Catholics who refused to officiate at same-sex marriages) and Brexit. On Brexit, he came out strongly for a No vote. In June 2016, he said, “the European project is not a monstrous bureaucracy. It is a serious and honourable attempt to realise that aspiration for a world governance authority at the service of the common good of the human family.”
He was also a promoter of reconciliation in Northern Ireland and he expressed his frustration at the long absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly. “We need prophetic, imaginative and courageous leadership which offers a new narrative for a dawning and challenging future in which we, all citizens of whatever ethnic, cultural, confessional, religious or other background, constitute together our primary resource and human wealth base,” he said in a homily in January 2018.
He urged people to “abandon the crippling and stagnating forces of fear and suspicion in the name of building a new future for all citizens and especially for the weakest and the newly arrived in our society”.
He also acted as a bridge builder between communities. Archbishop John McDowell, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, recalled how Archbishop Treanor accepted an invitation to speak at an ecumenical gathering in the little Church of Ireland parish church in Tyholland near where he grew up. “Always extremely well prepared, he arrived with a hefty volume of paper. However, halfway through his address, he abandoned his notes and spoke directly to many people in that small Protestant community whose families he had grown up with and for whom he had a clear-eyed affection for,” said Archbishop McDowell.
[ Bishop calls for ‘courageous leadership’ in the NorthOpens in new window ]
Born in the Co Monaghan village of Silverstream, Noël Treanor was one of three children of John and Molly Treanor. He attended St Mary’s Christian Brothers School in Monaghan, after which he went to St Patrick’s College Maynooth to study arts, philosophy and theology. He was ordained a priest to the Diocese of Clogher in 1976.
Following his ordination he was sent to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome for further studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He completed his licentiate in sacred theology with special commendation in 1977. He was recalled to the diocese of Clogher in 1980 where his first assignment was in the local Catholic marriage advisory council.
He returned to Rome in 1981 to complete further studies and also served as the prefect of studies at the Pontifical Irish College. Back in Ireland again in 1985, he was appointed the diocesan director of adult education and, in 1986, he organised the diocesan assembly of clergy to promote pastoral renewal.
He was sent to Brussels in 1989 to work with COMECE and from that time onwards until his appointment as bishop of Down and Connor, he became deeply involved in the promotion of Christian values in Europe.
President Michael D Higgins said that Archbishop Treanor was “deeply committed to the possibilities of a union that respects difference and that was based on a shared ethic”. Recalling his own contribution to a consultation entitled A Soul for Europe which Treanor organised during Jacques Delors’ presidency of the European Commission, President Higgins said “it included not only those of all faiths and of the different humanist traditions but ... all those who are of an ethical disposition”.
Archbishop Noël Treanor is survived by his brother, John and sister, Mary.