Final service for Cork bishop who married 'Posh and Becks'

Bishop Paul Colton participated in his final service as Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross was held in Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral on Saturday.

This is a significant moment in the life of the Church of Ireland in Cork as Bishop Colton, who is retiring, has been the longest serving Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross since 1617 and, of the serving bishops in the Church of Ireland.

The preacher at the Service was Bishop and Mrs Susan Colton’s friend of many years, the Very Reverend Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark.

The congregation of nearly 500 people from the Diocese, and all the serving clergy and commissioned lay workers of the Diocese, were joined by ten bishops including Bishop Fintan Gavin (Cork and Ross), Bishop John Buckley (Bishop Emeritus) and Bishop William Crean (Cloyne).

At the end of the Service, Bishop Colton returned his crozier (pastoral staff) and, in a symbol of looking to the future, entrusted it to young parishioners, before it is returned to the Cathedral treasury by the Canon Treasurer where it will await the election and consecration of a new bishop in the coming months.

Bishop Colton hit the headlines in 1999 when he married 'Posh and Becks' – David and Victoria Beckham – at Luttrellstown Castle in Co Dublin in July.