Alan Clark (bishop)

Alan Charles Clark (9 August 1919 – 16 July 2002) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia in the Ecclesiastical Province of Westminster, England.

The Right Reverend

Alan Charles Clark
Bishop of East Anglia
ProvinceWestminster
DioceseEast Anglia
Appointed26 April 1976
Term ended21 March 1995
PredecessorNew title
SuccessorPeter Smith
Other postsCo-chairman of ARCIC
Orders
Ordination11 February 1945
Consecration13 May 1969
by Charles Alexander Grant
Personal details
Birth nameAlan Charles Clark
Born(1919-08-09)9 August 1919
Bickley, Kent, England
Died16 July 2002(2002-07-16) (aged 82)
NationalityBritish
DenominationRoman Catholic
Previous post
Mottoaddictus ministerio Christi
Coat of arms

Early life

Born in Bickley, Kent on 9 August 1919, he was the son of parents who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. He was ordained to the priesthood on 11 February 1945.[1]

Episcopal career

He was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Northampton and Titular Bishop of Elmhama by the Holy See on 31 March 1969. Two months later, he was formally consecrated to the Episcopate on 13 May 1969. The principal consecrator was Bishop Charles Alexander Grant of Northampton, and the principal co-consecrators were Archbishop Cyril Conrad Cowderoy of Southwark and Archbishop John Aloysius Murphy of Cardiff. He also became co-chairman of the Anglican—Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).[1]

On 13 March 1976, the new Diocese of East Anglia was established, and Alan Clark was appointed its first bishop on 26 April 1976 and installed at the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich on 2 June 1976. As the bishop of the new diocese, Alan Clark had to set up all the necessary instruments and commissions for the diocese to operate successfully. Following his 75th birthday in August 1994, he retired on 21 March 1995 and assumed the title Bishop Emeritus of East Anglia. On 2 June 2001, Bishop Clark celebrated the 25th Anniversary of his installation as the first Bishop of the Diocese.[1]

He died on 16 July 2002, aged 82. He is buried at the National Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.[2]

References
  1. "Bishop Alan Charles Clark". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  2. Larsen, Chris. Catholic Bishops of Great Britain, Sacristy Press, 2016, p. 141ISBN 9781910519257
Catholic Church titles
New title Titular Bishop of Elmhama
1969 - 1976		 Succeeded by
Patrick Leo McCartie
New title Bishop of East Anglia
1976 - 1995		 Succeeded by
Peter Smith
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