Monsignor Timothy Menezes, Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral, and Canon Richard Walker, Vicar General, will serve the Archdiocese of Birmingham as auxiliary bishops, notes the archdiocese’s website.
The role of an auxiliary bishop is to assist the diocesan bishop in the functions of the office and the diocese, but the exact nature of the auxiliary bishop’s duties can vary and depend on the diocese, its demographics and the responsibilities a bishop assigns him. Dioceses or archdioceses with large populations are more likely to have auxiliary bishops.
The bishops-elect will join Bishop David Evans as auxiliary bishops serving the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Mgr Menezes has been the Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral since 2019. He
is also the Vice-Dean of Birmingham Cathedral and South Deanery. He was
the Vicar General for several years and also the Archbishop’s Secretary.
Mgr Menezes was installed as an Ecumenical Canon at Lichfield Cathedral
in July 2022.
Canon Walker has served as the Vicar General and
Trustee of the Archdiocese since September 2020. In previous years he
served as the Director of Ongoing Formation for the Archdiocese and Vice
Rector at St Mary’s College, Oscott.
Archbishop Bernard Longley
said: “I am very grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for
appointing Mgr Timothy Menezes and Canon Richard Walker as auxiliary
bishops to serve the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
“With their long experience of pastoral ministry, their contributions
to priestly formation and their dedicated service as Vicars General I
know that they will assist me and Bishop David Evans in caring for our
clergy and in carrying out our diocesan vision and mission in the years
ahead.
“I ask the prayers of Our Lady and St Chad, St John Henry
Newman and Blessed Dominic Barberi for our two bishops-elect as they
prepare for their episcopal ordination in the coming weeks.”
In
response to his appointment, Bishop-elect Mgr Menezes, who will also be
Titular Bishop of Tugga (Thuggensis), said: “A vocation to the
priesthood is one of my earliest memories and my faith has been
nourished by my family. For us, Parish life and Sunday Mass were always
so important.
“It has been a privilege to have served as a priest
for 29 years. I am grateful to those who have shaped my life through
every pastoral experience and I ask those who have been part of the
journey of life to pray for me now.
“I have always tried to
encourage the young to know the importance of their place in the Church
and to value their joyful witness of hope.
“In this new role as a Shepherd, I will continue to serve the Lord,
encouraging the People of God, the Religious and my fellow Clergy to
know God’s love for them and together to build the Kingdom of God
beginning with the needs of those whom we might have left behind: those
who are homeless, the asylum seeker and those for whom the Church owes a
special duty of care.”
Bishop-elect Canon Walker, who will also
be Titular Bishop of Mortlach (Murthlacensis), said: “It was a surprise
to be appointed an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham, but with humility and
hope I have accepted. It is a privilege to be asked to serve the people
of God in this manner and I look forward to continuing to work with
Archbishop Bernard and the priests, deacons and people of the
Archdiocese to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“Please keep me in your prayers that, with God’s grace, I may be a faithful shepherd and servant of the Gospel.”
Information
regarding the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-elect Timothy Menezes and
Bishop-elect Richard Walker will be made available in due course by the
Archdiocese of Birmingham.