Pope appoints new Roman Catholic bishop for the Diocese of East Anglia

A new Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia has been appointed by the Pope.

Reverend Canon Peter Collins is currently a priest in Cardiff and was announced on Tuesday in both Rome and Norwich.

He will become the fifth Bishop of East Anglia and takes over from Bishop Alan Hopes who is retiring.

The bishop-elect said: “As I leave the mountains and valleys of the West for the expansive plains of the East, I realise that my horizons will change and that I have much to learn. 

"Trusting in God’s grace and mercy and obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, let us discern together the pathway that awaits us and recognise that the Gospel is forever new and that the church remains forever young.”

Retiring bishop Alan Hopes said: “It is a great joy for me and the diocese that the Holy Father has appointed bishop-elect Peter Collins as the fifth Bishop of East Anglia. 

"As the new bishop prepares to come and serve God’s people in this diocese, he comes with great personal, pastoral and theological gifts, and with many years of dedicated service to the church in the archdiocese of Cardiff."

The bishop-elect will be ordained at a ceremony at the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist in Norwich on 14 December.

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