2000 in Norwich Cathedral welcome new Bishop

 
The service was led by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
 
The two-hour Mass of Installation was attended by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, almost all the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, a representative of Pope Francis, civic representatives from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire as well as representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Bishop of Norwich, the Salvation Army, Eastern Baptists, the United Reformed Church, and the East Anglia Methodists.
 
Bishop Alan will lead Roman Catholics in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and succeeds the Right Rev Michael Evans, who died of cancer in 2011.
 
Bishop Alan said: "Today has been a momentous celebration for the whole of the Catholic Diocese of East Anglia and for me personally, as I come amongst them as their father, their brother and a fellow pilgrim with them.
 
"I am looking forward to getting to know both the clergy and the people of the Diocese and the richness of a family that covers the three counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and the city of Peterborough. I am also looking forward to getting to know and working with the leaders of the other Christian churches and communities who were present at today’s Installation Mass – it is so important today that Christians work together, in those areas where it is possible to do so, for the benefit of society as a whole.
 
"I hope that the Catholic Church in East Anglia will continue to be able to engage with the wider community, with those of faith and those of no faith."
 
Click here to read more about Bishop Alan


Pictured above is the installation of Bishop Alan Hopes at Norwich RC Cathedral. Picture courtesy of Mazur/www.catholicnews.org.uk