Thursday 26 June 2008

Fit for a Bishop

This is St Mary's church in Barrow-in-Furness, which for a while is playing host to Bishop Michael Campbell. It has usually been the case that when two bishops are resident in the Diocese one has lived in Lancaster and one somewhere in Cumbria; Bishop Campbell moved in here in Holy Week, a few days prior to his ordination. He lives in the Presbytery with the parish priest, Fr John Watson.

The church is extremely beautiful and has been wonderfully restored in recent years. Much of the stencilling around the apse had been covered over in the 1970s but a few years ago it was returned to its original majesty.

A group from Bishop Campbell's former parish in Hammersmith are coming up to the north west in the autumn, and hopefully will visit St Mary's then. They can be sure that their former parish priest is resident in a place fit for a bishop!