.- Today the Holy Father appointed Fr. Michael Gregory Campbell O.S.A. as the coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Lancaster, England.
The current episcopal vicar and pastor of the parish of St. Augustine in the Diocese of Westminster, England was born in Larne, Northern Ireland in 1941 and ordained a priest in 1971. The bishop-elect, is an Augustinian Friar and will become the sixth bishop of Lancaster.
Upon hearing of his appointment, Campbell said, “I feel humbled and deeply touched by my appointment by Pope Benedict XVI as Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster. It was in the Lancaster Diocese that I was ordained priest and have the happiest memories of the ten years I spent working in the diocese with the late Bishop John Brewer. I have always found the clergy, religious and people of the Diocese of Lancaster warm and friendly. In a sense I feel I am coming back home and I greatly look forward, with God’s grace, to working with Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue and serving the diocese as a bishop.”
Father Campbell will serve 124,256 Catholics and 179 priests in the Diocese of Lancaster. As the coadjutor, Bishop-elect Campbell will take over leadership of the Lancaster Diocese once Bishop O’Donoghue retires.
