A Vicksburg priest elevated to the honorary designation of monsignor will be honored in Jackson in June.

Monsignor Patrick FarrellMonsignor Patrick Farrell, pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church, 713 Crawford St., was given the honorary designation in February and will be honored at an evening prayer service June 17 in Jackson, a week after the 48th anniversary of his ordination. Farrell will be presented with the official decree of the honor from the Vatican, said Mary Woodward, director of communications for the Diocese of Jackson.

Farrell hails from the northwest Irish province of Connacht and has been pastor at St. Paul since January 2003.

Two other diocesan priests will be recognized at the ceremony. Elvin Sands, vicar-general of the diocese, was also named monsignor, and Monsignor Michael Flannery of St. Francis in Madison was named Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary, the third order of monsignor.

Monsignor is an honorary title granted by the pope, as are the coinciding titles. Farrell and Sands have been named Prelates of Honor, the second order of monsignor, Woodward said.

If you goMonsignor Patrick Farrell of St. Paul Catholic Church will be honored at 6:30 p.m. June 17 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, 123 N. West St., in downtown Jackson.The three Vicksburg parishes, St. Paul, St. Mary’s and St. Michael, and their congregants fall under the administration of the Diocese of Jackson, as does Vicksburg Catholic School. Each diocese, a district of the Roman Catholic Church, is headed by a bishop.

There are two dioceses in Mississippi. The Diocese of Jackson includes 65 counties and spans nearly 38,000 square miles, making it the largest geographical diocese east of the Mississippi River. The other Mississippi diocese, the Diocese of Biloxi, covers 17 southern Mississippi counties.