THE CORK-BORN Archbishop Patrick Coveney has died at the age of 88. He served across the world, including stints in Argentina, India, Sudan, Ethiopia, New Zealand and several Pacific islands.
His most recent posting was in Greece. Since his retirement as Apostolic Nuncio to Greece in 2009, Archbishop Coveney lived in Crosshaven Parish in the Diocese of Cork and Ross the, Independent Catholic News reports.
The clergyman was born in 1934 and was a native of Tracton Abbey Parish in Co. Cork.
In 1966 Archbishop Coveney joined the Secretariat of State in the Vatican and then entered the Pontifical Ecclesial Academy in 1969. He served as Secretary to the Apostolic Nuncio in Argentina from 1972 -1976 after which he returned to Rome to re-join the Secretariat of State until 1982. He then moved to New Delhi until 1984 as counsellor to the Nunciature, and then to Khartoum in Sudan until 1985.
He was appointed as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Zimbabwe and Apostolic Delegate to Mozambique until 1990. He then served as Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Ethiopia residing in Addis Ababa as well as Apostolic Delegate to Djibouti until 1996.
In 1996 Archbishop Coveney was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand, residing in Wellington. In this period he also served as Apostolic Nuncio to Samoa, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Nauru, Cook Islands and Palau. He was appointed in 2005 as Apostolic Nuncio to Greece residing in Athens until his retirement in 2009.
From 2009 Archbishop Coveney returned to the diocese to reside in Crosshaven Parish. He assisted in this parish as well as celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in many parishes throughout the diocese at the invitation of Bishop Gavin and the former Bishop of Cork and Ross, Bishop John Buckley.
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