Announcement:Archbishop of Armagh Dr Seán Brady learned on Sunday from the papal nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazarrotto, that he is to be elevated to cardinal, he disclosed yesterday at a press conference in the synod hall of St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
He said he was "taken aback" by the appointment, which will take place in Rome next month. He had heard of such speculation, but did not expect the elevation to take place so soon.
"After all, this will be the first time in history that Ireland will have three cardinals," he said, referring to Cardinal Cahal Daly and Cardinal Desmond Connell.
He said he was humbled by the news and stressed that he saw his appointment as an honour for the Catholic Church in Ireland. That was his reaction at the cathedral yesterday, where a Mass was being held for the local girls' school St Catherine's. Parishioners at the Mass said they were delighted for the archbishop.
Before attending the press conference, he spoke to the girls and their teachers in the cathedral and was warmly applauded. Earlier, the school's principal, Deirdre McDonald, congratulated the archbishop and wished him well. The archbishop, referring to part of his address at the press conference, urged the girls to follow Benedict XVI's recent advice to him and to "be bold in speaking of the joy that comes from following Christ".
Of his elevation, he told the students: "It is an honour for me, it is an honour for the church in Ireland, it is a special honour for the church here in Armagh, in the See of Patrick, a see that has always prided itself on its attachment to Rome."
At the press conference, the archbishop expanded on this point. "I have no hesitation in saying that in honouring me in this way, the Holy Father wishes to honour the whole church in Ireland, especially those whose service of the Lord is lived out in the ordinary and often hidden circumstances of everyday life," he said.
"This announcement is about them - about the families and individuals who in spite of the great challenges faced by the church in Ireland in recent years, of the many reasons to feel hurt or unheard or uncertain, have remained faithful to the message of Jesus in their everyday lives. I hope that all who are persevering in living the faith will find new heart in this expression of confidence by the Holy Father, not so much in me as in the whole church in Ireland at this time," he added.
The archbishop also spoke of the good wishes he received yesterday from President McAleese; Taoiseach Bertie Ahern; the British government; TDs, Assembly members and Senators, and from the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist leaders, Archbishop Alan Harper, Dr John Finlay, and the Rev Roy Cooper.
"It has been a privilege for me to have been part of the work of the four main church leaders over the past 11 years," he said. "I hope that they will see in this announcement a renewed expression of the commitment of the Catholic Church to the vital work of ecumenical dialogue, and greater understanding and reconciliation between the various traditions of Northern Ireland."
A message of congratulations also came from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, he said. The archbishop said he saw his appointment as an expression of the pope's confidence in the progress achieved in the North.