Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham Ordained and Installed 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle
The Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham has been ordained and installed the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. It's an extra special day for the diocese as it's the Feast of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, a 7th Century Northern Saint and patron of the diocese.
The two‐hour service and ceremony took place on Friday, 20 March at midday at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne.
People from every town and rural community in the region joined the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales and more than 20 regional and civic guests, 200 priests, deacons and members of religious orders, 19 representatives of North East Christian Churches and other faiths – plus 105 of Bishop Cunningham’s close family from Ireland to pack the Cathedral to its great West Door.
Bishop Cunningham, 66, was ordained Bishop by Liverpool’s Archbishop – the Most Rev Patrick Kelly – and supported by the Rt Rev Ambrose Griffiths – the 11th Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle until his retirement in 2004 – and Bishop Michael Campbell from Lancaster. Both concelebrated the Ordination Mass with Archbishop Kelly.
Present on the sanctuary of the Cathedral were Cardinal Cormac Murphy‐O’Connor of Westminster, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the Pope’s personal representative Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, who brought with him the official Proclamation from Rome, written in Latin.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle covers the North East from Berwick‐upon‐Tweed to Stockton‐on‐Tees
Interview
Ahead of his Ordination and Installation, Bishop Seamus spoke to Fr Chris Jackson - Episcopal Vicar in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.
"I was amazed at the number of people who said: ‘I’ve prayed for you every day since you entered the seminary and I shall continue to pray for you as you journey through priesthood.’ I’ve certainly experienced the power of that prayer."
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Homily
Episcopal Ordination the homily was preached by the Most Rev Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool.
"So the greatness of heart that we plead for this day is such that every word shall be Good News, Gospel, flowing from someone who will place his whole being under the shadow of the book of the Gospels, as he welcomes not a spirit of timidity but a spirit of love and power and self control. Every prayer, word, decision shall further God’s kingdom of justice, love and peace and shall be a curing of all kinds of diseases, sickness."
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Archbishop Patrick Kelly's homily at the Ordination of Bishop Seamus Cunningham (pdf)
Links/acknowledgments
Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Bishop Cunningham's profile/biography
Images: © Marcin Mazur/CCN