(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named Msgr. Mark O’Toole to head the Diocese of Plymouth
in England. He was serving as the rector of Allen Hall Seminary in London at the time
of his appointment. He succeeds Bishop Hugh Christopher Budd, whose resignation the
Pope accepted in conformity with canon 401.
Bishop-elect O’Toole was born
in London in 1963, and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Westminster in
1990.
In his priestly ministry, he served as parish vicar and as the dean
of studies at Allen Hall Seminary. In 2002, he was named personal secretary to Cardinal
Cormac Murphy O’Connor. In 2008, he was appointed seminary rector.
He is a
member of the ethics committee of St. John And St. Elizabeth Hospital and on the governing
body of Heythrop College, both in London.
He holds a bachelor’s in geography
and another in theology. He also earned a master's degree in philosophy from Campion
Hall and a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical University of Louvain.
He
will receive his episcopal ordination on 28 January 2014, at St. Mary and St. Boniface
Cathedral in Plymouth.