Just after lunch today (Saturday, 20 August 2022) I received the call informing me that Bishop Séamus Freeman SAC, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Ossory, had died peacefully in the company of his family at Highfield Healthcare, Dublin. On hearing the news, I thought of the words that Bishop Freeman offered as he retired as Bishop of Ossory on the grounds of ill health in July 2016, when he spoke of the great privilege it had been to have served the people of the Diocese of Ossory. His only regret was that he was unable to stay as shepherd of the Diocese for longer. Bishop Freeman served the Church faithfully for many years including in his worldwide leadership of the Pallottine Order, as a parish priest in Rome and here in Ireland as Bishop of Ossory. His deep care for each person he encountered, his interest in the areas of pastoral renewal and faith formation were to the fore throughout his ministry. During his time here in Ossory he facilitated the realisation of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan and placed a great emphasis on the role of lay people responding to their baptismal call. He worked tirelessly for the restoration of our beautiful Cathedral Chapter House and surrounding campus. This work, which continues, has served to enhance the faith life of the Diocese, and remains as a fitting piece of the legacy that he leaves behind. All of us will remember Bishop Freeman as a kind and gentle pastor as we hold his family, friends, his Pallottine brothers and the priests of Ossory in our prayers in the days to come. May he rest now in the peace of the Lord.