His Eminence Seán Brady |
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Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Armagh | |
See | Armagh (emeritus) |
Appointed | 13 December 1994 (coadjutor) |
Installed | 3 November 1996 |
Term ended | 8 September 2014 |
Predecessor | Cahal Daly |
Successor | Eamon Martin |
Orders | |
Ordination | 22 February 1964 by Luigi Traglia |
Consecration | 19 February 1995 by Cahal Daly |
Created Cardinal | 24 November 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI |
Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
Personal details | |
Born |
Drumcalpin, County Cavan |
16 August 1939
Nationality | Irish |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Alma mater |
St Patrick's College, Maynooth Pontifical Irish College Pontifical Lateran University |
Motto | Jesum Christum cognoscere (To Know Jesus Christ) |
Coat of arms |
Styles of Seán Brady |
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Reference style | His Eminence |
Spoken style | Your Eminence |
Informal style | Cardinal |
Seán Baptist Cardinal Brady (born 16 August 1939) is an Irish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1996 until 2014, being elevated to the cardinalate in 2007. He faced repeated calls to resign over his role in an alleged cover-up of child abuse by priests in his jurisdiction.
Seán Brady was born in Drumcalpin, near Laragh, County Cavan, to Andrew (d. 1968) and Annie (d. 1990) Brady. One of three children, he has a brother, Con, and a sister, Kitty. He attended Caulfield National School in Laragh and St Patrick's College in Cavan.
In 1957, he entered Maynooth College, from where he later obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient Classics in 1960. He then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Irish College and Pontifical Lateran University, where he earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1964. He received a Doctorate in Canon Law at the Lateran University in 1967.
Brady was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Luigi Traglia on 22 February 1964. Finishing his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University, he there earned a doctorate in canon law in 1967. Upon his return to Ireland that year, he served as a teacher at his alma mater of St. Patrick's in Cavan until 1980. At St. Patrick's, he taught a variety of subjects including Latin, Commerce, Religion, and French, as well as training college football teams at all age levels. While he was teaching at the school, in 1975, he was present when children signed vows of silence over allegations against a paedophile priest. One of the victims gave him a list of other children being abused by Father Brendan Smyth, who was convicted in 1994 of dozens of offences over a 40-year period. In his capacity as a notary, he handed over signed statements from the witnesses to his Bishop. However, he did not notify the civil authorities of the existence of such evidence. Commenting on the BBC programme, Cardinal Brady said that the programme makers had overstated the part he played: