A DIRECTOR of Services with Clare County Council has been ordained a deacon of the Diocese of Cloyne.
Leonard Cleary, who is Director of Rural Development and responsible for the West Clare Municipal District, is now a permanent deacon, assigned to minister in the Parish of Charleville in north County Cork.
Mr Cleary who is from Corofin and a very popular member of staff at the local authority in Clare, served as a pastoral assistant in Charleville for some time before his ordination on Sunday August 15.
In his capacity as pastoral assistant, Mr Cleary has assisted in preparation for the sacraments and addressed the parents of the Confirmation and First Holy Communion children.
He has read the Sacred Scriptures at Mass, acted as Minister of the Eucharist and collected. Mr Cleary also attended all the meetings of the Charleville Pastoral Council until the pandemic came along.
Last year, Mr Cleary was made an acolyte of the Diocese of Cloyne, a role that paved the way for his ordination to the permanent diaconate.
Bishop William Crean, who officiated at the ordination at The Church of the Holy Cross in Charleville on August 15, wished Mr Cleary well in his role.
“We give thanks for his call to ministry and his generous response to serve the people of God,” he said. “May his ministry bear fruit in plenty.”
 In a statement welcoming Mr Cleary, the Parish of Charleville said: “We will be delighted to have him on the parish team from now onwards. May God bless our new Deacon in his future ministry. 
“Please pray for him as he takes up this service in our midst and pray for his wife, Michelle and family as they support him in his ministry. As the Psalmist says: ‘This day was made by the Lord. We rejoice and are glad’.”
According to a brief biography on the website of the Parish of Charleville, Mr Cleary was reared in Clare, is married to Michelle and they have four children.
He was a clerical student at one stage and now he has chosen to serve the Church as a Permanent Deacon.
Mr Cleary previously served for 15 years as Chair of Killaloe Diocesan Pastoral Council with Bishops Fintan Monahan, Willie Walsh and Kieran O Reilly.
The Diocese of Cloyne is actively inviting men between the ages of 30 and 60 who are interested in serving as Deacons in the Church to make contact with a view to exploring the possibility of undertaking formation with a view to ordination as Deacon.
This Diocese said that the ministry is open to men, either married or single.