The structural changes recently announced by Pope Francis which will see dioceses in the west of Ireland merging is “largely about the sharing of resources and the deepening of communion”, according to Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran.

In his homily to mark 150 years of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Sligo, Bishop Doran acknowledged that people “get nervous” about change.

But he said the plan to draw the six dioceses into closer communion in the coming years followed consultations with the faithful, the clergy and the bishops of the Tuam province.

He emphasised that the day-to-day life of parish communities is unlikely to change very much because of a decision made in Rome about joining two dioceses. “It will affect me as bishop and whoever comes after me, and it will probably lead to changes in the administration of the diocese,” he explained.

Reflecting on the mission of the cathedral parish, he underlined that it is not just a building.

“I think it is important for us, as a cathedral community to see ourselves as having a particular role and mission in symbolising and contributing to the communion of the whole diocese. A diocese is not just a loose collection of parishes. Rather, we are one body in Christ.”

The cathedral parish, he said, is called in a particular way to a mission of gathering and welcome, where people from every corner of the diocese feel at home.

He added that this placed a special responsibility on the parish to “make sure that our liturgy is celebrated in a way that gathers people and lifts them up” and all have a part to play – “those in the sanctuary and those in the sacristy”.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was solemnly blessed by Cardinal Paul Cullen in July 1874. It was designed by George Goldie, one of the foremost Catholic architects in England in the 19th century.