Pope Francis: new Bishop for East Anglia

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has nominated Bishop Alan Stephen Hopes, an auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Westminster, as the new Bishop of East Anglia in England.

Bishop Hopes was born in Oxford, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, on March 14, 1944. Having obtained the Bachelor of Divinity from King’s College in London, he was ordained a priest of the Anglican church in 1968. He undertook parish ministry in different parts of London, becoming Prebendary of the cathedral of Saint Paul in London in 1987.

He was received into the Catholic Church in 1992 and, after three years of studies, was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster on December 4, 1995. He spent two years as Vicar in the parish of Our Lady of Victories in Kensington; later he was named Pastor of the parish of Our Most Holy Redeemer and Saint Thomas More in Chelsea. In 1999 he became Vicar forane; in 2001 he was named Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

On January 4, 2003, he was named titular Bishop of Cuncacestre and Auxiliary of Westminster. He was consecrated on January 24, 2003.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Liturgy for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.