“The faith is still very much alive here in the Diocese of St Patrick… It may sometimes be very fragile, but I know that the faith endures.”
As Bishop Michael Router prepares for his installation as Bishop of Derry, the priests and people of the Archdiocese of Armagh gathered in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, to give thanks for his seven years of episcopal ministry among us.
The Mass of Thanksgiving and Celebration offered an opportunity to look back with gratitude on Bishop Michael’s ministry and on the many relationships, encounters and moments of faith which have marked his years in Armagh.
In his homily, Bishop Michael reflected on the Beatitudes in St Luke’s Gospel and on the closeness of God to us in times of vulnerability, grief and uncertainty. Drawing from almost four decades of priestly ministry, he spoke of how often he had encountered Christ in the faith of the people he had been privileged to meet.
“Sometimes the most important thing that we can do is simply to stand alongside people, to listen to their story, to help them to know that they are not alone and assure them that neither God nor the Church has abandoned them.”
Bishop Michael recalled the many joyful occasions he had shared with communities throughout the Archdiocese, including Confirmations, parish celebrations, jubilees and anniversaries. He also remembered the more difficult moments of pastoral ministry, when communities faced bereavement, tragedy and uncertainty, and where the faith and kindness of ordinary people often spoke more powerfully than words.
Archbishop Eamon Martin also expressed his deep appreciation for Bishop Michael’s ministry and friendship. Since Bishop Michael’s episcopal ordination in 2019, Archbishop Eamon has described him as a tremendous support in the pastoral life, governance and administration of the Archdiocese and as someone whose presence will be greatly missed.
He paid particular tribute to Bishop Michael’s pastoral instinct, his warmth as a priest and bishop, his gifts as a preacher and communicator and his ability to work alongside others. Archbishop Eamon also acknowledged Bishop Michael’s significant contribution to the synodal life of the Archdiocese, particularly his leadership of the process which culminated in the Diocesan Congress on Youth, Family and Faith in March.
That synodal experience also featured prominently in Bishop Michael’s own homily. He described the Congress as a “wonderful and life-giving experience of prayer, of participation, of hope” and challenged the Archdiocese to ensure that its energy now leads to missionary action rather than simply another report.
For Bishop Michael, the emerging vision places encounter with Christ, formation, belonging, liturgy and prayer at the heart of renewal, while recognising that mission belongs not only to clergy or pastoral structures but to all the baptised.
Looking to the future, he spoke with confidence about the faith he has witnessed throughout the Archdiocese.
“The faith is still very much alive here in the Diocese of St Patrick,” he said. “It may sometimes be very fragile. It needs encouragement. It needs formation and renewal. But I know that the faith endures.”
That faith, he suggested, often lives quietly in the ordinary places of life: in parents passing faith to their children, in parishioners gathering week after week, in volunteers serving without recognition, in young people searching for God and in those who continue to pray when nobody else sees.
As he prepares to begin his ministry in Derry, Bishop Michael said that his overwhelming feeling was one of thanksgiving. He thanked Archbishop Eamon, the priests and deacons, religious, diocesan staff and the people of the Archdiocese for their friendship, prayers, patience and witness.
Returning to the episcopal motto which has accompanied him throughout his seven years as a bishop, he concluded:
“Into your hands, O Lord.”
In those words, Bishop Michael entrusted to God the Archdiocese he has come to love, its people, its joys and struggles, its future and its mission.
The Archdiocese of Armagh gives thanks for Bishop Michael’s generous service and assures him of our prayers and affection as he prepares to take up his ministry as Bishop of Derry.
Photos From The Mass
