The Pastoral Centres Management Board

The District has established a new Pastoral Centres Management Board (PCMB), chaired by Director of Mission, Joseph Gilson, which formally begins its work this month. The Board was set up following a review of the District's Pastoral Centres in 2024 and a strategic governance review completed in 2025, after which the District Council approved its Terms of Reference.

The PCMB will provide strategic oversight, governance assurance and mission alignment for all of the District's Pastoral Centres. Day-to-day operational leadership remains with each Centre's Director, and the Board will support Centres through coordinated oversight of areas including mission, governance, safeguarding, finance, human resources, strategic planning, property matters, and issue escalation where necessary. The new structure builds on the strengths of the management and advisory arrangements already in place, bringing greater consistency, clarity, accountability and strategic direction across the District.

The new inaugural members are:

  • Joseph Gilson - Director of Mission, Chair of the national legal entity in Malta, and Chair of the PCMB

  • Kevin Humphrey - District Bursar

  • Brother Thomas Walsh - Member of the District Council, current line manager of the three Directors in Ireland, chair of the outgoing PCMB in Ireland, and member of the national legal entity in Ireland

  • Brother Aidan Kilty - Member of the District Council, member of all three national legal entities, and current Chair of the St Cassians Management Board

  • Brother John Deeney - Member of the GB national legal entity, and currently also serving on the St Cassians Management Board and the Kintbury Advisory Group

  • Claire White - Chair of the Institute's legal entity in Northern Ireland, and an experienced senior leader

  • Deacon Sean Farrell - Based in Derry and active in the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland; a former Kintbury volunteer with experience in youth ministry in the US and UK

  • Fergus Dunne - Author of the comprehensive report on the District's Pastoral Centres, a member of the Irish Finance Committee and the District Economic Council, and Chair of the sub-committee overseeing the Operations Manager at Castletown