The Bishop of Worcester has been announced as the next Lord High Almoner.The Right Reverend Dr John Inge replaces the Bishop of Manchester, who held the office from 1997 until his retirement in January.
The Lord High Almoner is responsible for the liturgical arrangements for the Royal Maundy Service, in which the Queen distributes ‘Maundy Money’.
The tradition takes place in a different cathedral each year and symbolises the giving of alms to the poor.
Today Maundy Money is given to elderly men and women chosen because of their service to the church or community.
The Lord High Almoner organises the service on Maundy Thursday and delivers the Royal Maundy lecture in which the history and symbolism of the tradition is explained.
Bishop Inge said he was “honoured” to take on the role, which goes back some 900 years.
“I shall be responsible for the Royal Maundy service which is a wonderful reminder each year that the ideal of Christian service lies at the heart of the monarchy, an ideal which Her Majesty the Queen has embodied so wholeheartedly in her devoted service to her people for over sixty years,” he said.