Michael Courtney
Encyclopedia
Michael Aidan Courtney was the Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi
and Titular
Archbishop of Eanach Dúin
Courtney was born in Summerhill in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He entered Clonfert Seminary and was ordained a priest on 9 March 1968.
Courtney entered the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1980 and worked at the Nunciatures in South Africa
, Senegal
, India
, Yugoslavia
, Cuba
, Egypt
. He was named the Special Envoy and Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, on 30 December 1995.
Pope John Paul II
appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi and Titular Archbishop of Eanach Dúin on 18 August 2000. http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/7455.php?index=7455&po_date=18.08.2000&lang=fr He received episcopal ordination on 12 November 2000 at St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh from Francis Arinze, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
, with Bishops John Kirby
and William Walsh
serving as co-consecrators.
As he returned to Bujumbura
from pastoral duties, gunmen fired at his car as he passed Minago, a town about 30 miles south of the capital. Archbishop Courtney suffered gunshot wounds to the head, shoulder and leg and died from hemorrhaging while being operated on. He was 58 years old.
The funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinals Arinze and Desmond Connell
, Archbishop Seán Brady
, Papal Nuncio
Giuseppe Lazzarotto
, and other prominent bishops and clerics from throughout Ireland. Minister for Defence Michael Smith
represented the Government of Ireland at the funeral Mass and burial. Also present were many public representatives from Nenagh Town Council and North Tipperary County Council. Archbishop Courtney was survived by his brothers William, Louis, Jim, and sisters Kathleen Vandenberghe, Mary Courtney-Spreng and Eileen Frewen, as well as 16 nephews and nieces.
At his funeral Mass, Cardinal Arinze said that "Nuncio Courtney preached mutual love, Christian reconciliation, harmony and unity between people. He made his own the exhortation of St Paul to the Corinthians: 'We are ambassadors for Christ: it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled to God' (2 Cor 5: 20). It is tragic that this very witness of the love of Christ, this ambassador of the Pope who daily manifested the concern of the Successor of Saint Peter for all citizens of Burundi, is shot dead by the very people he was serving." http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040103_esequie-mons-courtney_en.html
Archbishop Courtney was laid to rest at his "heaven on earth" on the shores of Lough Derg in Co Tipperary
near Dromineer, six miles outside Nenagh
.
Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi
The Apostolic Nuncio to Brundi is the principal representative of the Pope, to the Government of Burundi.-Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi since 1963:*Vito Roberti *Émile André Jean-Marie Maury...
and Titular
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
Archbishop of Eanach Dúin
Bishop of Annaghdown
The Bishop of Annaghdown is an episcopal title which takes its name after the small village of Annaghdown in County Galway, Ireland....
Courtney was born in Summerhill in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He entered Clonfert Seminary and was ordained a priest on 9 March 1968.
Courtney entered the Holy See's diplomatic service in 1980 and worked at the Nunciatures in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was named the Special Envoy and Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, on 30 December 1995.
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi and Titular Archbishop of Eanach Dúin on 18 August 2000. http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/7455.php?index=7455&po_date=18.08.2000&lang=fr He received episcopal ordination on 12 November 2000 at St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh from Francis Arinze, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the...
, with Bishops John Kirby
John Kirby (Bishop)
John Kirby is the Bishop of the Diocese of Clonfert. He was born in Baylough, Athlone, County Roscommon, Ireland. He was ordained a priest on 23 June 1963 for his home diocese. He was educated at Garbally College where he later taught...
and William Walsh
Willie Walsh (bishop)
William Walsh is an Irish Catholic prelate who is the bishop emeritus of Killaloe. He served as ordinary from 1995 until his retirement in 2010.-Career:...
serving as co-consecrators.
As he returned to Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
from pastoral duties, gunmen fired at his car as he passed Minago, a town about 30 miles south of the capital. Archbishop Courtney suffered gunshot wounds to the head, shoulder and leg and died from hemorrhaging while being operated on. He was 58 years old.
The funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinals Arinze and Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell is a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He is a former Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He was born in Dublin....
, Archbishop Seán Brady
Seán Brady
Seán Baptist Brady is an Irish cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the current Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007.-Early life and education:...
, Papal Nuncio
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland
The Holy See, as the central government of the Catholic Church , has full diplomatic ties with Ireland as well as many other countries worldwide. The current Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland is Archbishop-elect Monsignor Charles John Brown...
Giuseppe Lazzarotto
Giuseppe Lazzarotto
Giuseppe Lazzarotto JCD was born in Carpanè, Italy on 24 May 1942. He studied for the priesthood in the Diocese of Padua, being ordained a priest on 1 April 1967. He undertook post-graduate studies in diplomacy at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, while at the same time completing his...
, and other prominent bishops and clerics from throughout Ireland. Minister for Defence Michael Smith
Michael Smith (Irish politician)
Michael Smith is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for Tipperary North on several occasions since 1969...
represented the Government of Ireland at the funeral Mass and burial. Also present were many public representatives from Nenagh Town Council and North Tipperary County Council. Archbishop Courtney was survived by his brothers William, Louis, Jim, and sisters Kathleen Vandenberghe, Mary Courtney-Spreng and Eileen Frewen, as well as 16 nephews and nieces.
At his funeral Mass, Cardinal Arinze said that "Nuncio Courtney preached mutual love, Christian reconciliation, harmony and unity between people. He made his own the exhortation of St Paul to the Corinthians: 'We are ambassadors for Christ: it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled to God' (2 Cor 5: 20). It is tragic that this very witness of the love of Christ, this ambassador of the Pope who daily manifested the concern of the Successor of Saint Peter for all citizens of Burundi, is shot dead by the very people he was serving." http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040103_esequie-mons-courtney_en.html
Archbishop Courtney was laid to rest at his "heaven on earth" on the shores of Lough Derg in Co Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
near Dromineer, six miles outside Nenagh
Nenagh
Nenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
.