Ambrose Griffiths
The Right Reverend Ambrose Griffiths | |
---|---|
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle | |
Province | Liverpool |
Diocese | Hexham and Newcastle |
Installed | 1992 |
Term ended | 2004 |
Predecessor | Hugh Lindsay |
Successor | Kevin John Dunn |
Other post(s) | Bishop Emeritus of Hexham and Newcastle (2004–2011) |
Previous post(s) | Abbot of Saint Lawrence's Abbey, Ampleforth 1976–1984 |
Orders | |
Ordination | 21 July 1957 (priest) |
Consecration | 20 March 1992 |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Griffiths (1928-12-04)4 December 1928 Twickenham, England |
Died | 14 June 2011(2011-06-14) (aged 82) |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Dom Ambrose Griffiths OSB KC*HS (4 December 1928 – 14 June 2011) was a Benedictine abbot before becoming a Roman Catholic bishop in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.[1]
Biography
Born Michael Griffiths in Twickenham, Middlesex, and educated at Ampleforth College, near York, and at Balliol College, Oxford, he entered the monastery at Ampleforth, taking the religious name of Ambrose, and was ordained to the priesthood on 21 July 1957. In 1976, following the appointment of Abbot Basil Hume as Archbishop of Westminster, Dom Ambrose was elected Abbot of Ampleforth, a post he held until 1984 when he became Parish Priest of Leyland, Preston, Lancashire (Archdiocese of Liverpool), when he received the title of Abbot of Westminster.
In 1991 Bishop Hugh Lindsay announced his intention to resign the See of Hexham and Newcastle on the grounds of ill health. His resignation was accepted by Pope John Paul II, who in turn appointed Abbot Ambrose Griffiths as eleventh Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He received episcopal consecration in St. Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne, on 20 March 1992, the feast of Saint Cuthbert, co-patron of the diocese. The principal consecrator was Archbishop Derek Worlock of Liverpool, who was assisted by retiring Bishop Bishop Hugh Lindsay and Bishop Owen Swindlehurst, Auxiliary Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle and titular Bishop of Cuncacestre.
Auxiliary Bishop Swindlehurst died on 28 August 1995 and was not replaced, leaving Bishop Griffiths to administer the diocese without the assistance of any auxiliary. He implemented a number of changes to the structure of the diocese in order to ease transition to a new model of administration, and these measures included appointing new vicars general to assist the bishop. Throughout his tenure, Bishop Griffiths worked closely with young people, establishing a Youth Mission Team in the diocese and representing young Catholics in the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
He served as leader of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle for twelve years. When he reached the age limit for bishops of 75 years, prescribed in the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church, he submitted his resignation to John Paul II. His resignation was accepted and he retired on 25 May 2004, the memorial of Saint Bede, the Venerable. On the same day, he presided at the consecration of Kevin Dunn, who succeeded him. After retiring, he moved to St Mary's parish in Leyland, Preston, Lancashire and continued in his work as a member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. [citation needed]
Following a serious illness, due to acute leukaemia, he died, aged, 82, at Saint Mary's, during the afternoon of 14 June 2011. He is buried at Ampleforth Abbey.
References
- ^ Griffiths profile in Catholic Hierarchy website[self-published source]
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle website
- St Mary's Cathedral website (Newcastle upon Tyne)
- St Mary's, Leyland (church) website
- Obituary of Ambrose Griffiths, The Daily Telegraph, 31 August 2011
Catholic Church titles | ||
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Preceded by | Abbot of Ampleforth 1976–1984 | Succeeded by Patrick Barry |
Preceded by Hugh Lindsay | Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle 1992–2004 | Succeeded by Kevin Dunn |
- v
- t
- e
- Bishops of Hexham and Newcastle
- I: William Hogarth
- II: James Chadwick
- III: John Bewick
- IV: Henry O'Callaghan
- V: Thomas Wilkinson
- VI: Richard Collins
- VII: Joseph Thorman
- VIII: Joseph McCormack
- IX: James Cunningham
- X: Hugh Lindsay
- XI: Ambrose Griffiths
- XII: Kevin Dunn
- XIII: Séamus Cunningham
- XIV: Robert Byrne
- XV: Stephen Wright
![Cross of St Cuthbert](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Pectoral_Cross_of_St_Cuthbert.svg/100px-Pectoral_Cross_of_St_Cuthbert.svg.png)
- Churches
- St Mary's Cathedral - Cathedral Church of St Mary
- Our Lady and St Cuthbert Church, Berwick
- Biddlestone Chapel
- St Augustine's Church, Darlington
- St Cuthbert's Church, Durham
- St Joseph's Church, Gateshead
- St Joseph's Church, Hartlepool
- St Mary's Church, Hartlepool
- St Mary's Church, Hexham
- Holy Name Church, Jesmond
- St Robert of Newminster Church, Morpeth
- St Dominic's Church, Newcastle
- Sacred Heart Church, North Gosforth
- St Mary's Church, Stockton-on-Tees
- St Benet's Church, Sunderland
- St Mary's Church, Sunderland
- St Ninian's Church, Wooler
- Patronal Feasts of the Diocese
- Our Lady of the Assumption (15 August)
- Saint Cuthbert (28 March)
- Schools
- Cardinal Hume Catholic School
- Carmel College, Darlington
- English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College
- Our Lady and St Bede Catholic Academy
- Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Newcastle upon Tyne
- St Aidan's Catholic Academy
- St Anthony's Girls' Catholic Academy
- St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College
- St Bede's Catholic School, Peterlee
- St Benet Biscop Catholic Academy
- St Cuthbert's High School
- St John's Catholic School
- St Joseph's Catholic Academy
- St Joseph's Roman Catholic Middle School
- St Leonard's Catholic School, Durham
- St Mary's Catholic School, Newcastle upon Tyne
- St Michael's Catholic Academy, Billingham
- St Robert of Newminster Catholic School
- St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon
- St Thomas More Roman Catholic Academy, North Shields
- St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic College
- See also:
- Cardinal Basil Hume
- Minsteracres
- Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District
- Ushaw College
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