Bishop’s Chaplain moving on: A New Appointment for Fr Ben Bradshaw

Bishop’s Chaplain moving on: A New Appointment for Fr Ben Bradshaw

The appointment is announced of Fr Ben Bradshaw, Bishop’s Chaplain, to be Shrine Priest at The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk.

The role of the Shrine Priest is to share with the Priest Administrator in ministry to the many thousands of pilgrims who come each year to Walsingham from across Britain and indeed from overseas: See www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk  

 

Fr Ben writes:

It has been a pleasure and a great honour to serve our Bishop and this unique diocese since December 2017. In my ministry as Bishop’s Chaplain I have had the privilege of visiting every parish on the Island and have met many wonderful and faithful people. On a personal level, the Isle of Man will always hold a special place in my heart not least as the birth place of our youngest daughter, Bethany, as well as being the location of my ordination to the priesthood. As a family we will soon be moving on to the next stage of our life, serving God, Our Lady, and the thousands of pilgrims who visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham every year. I owe a great deal of thanks to many people throughout the diocese who have consistently supported and assisted me in my work as Bishop’s Chaplain, thank you for all your help. Please if you are able, do remember us in your prayers as we prepare for this move.

 

Bishop Peter writes:

I am delighted that Fr Ben has been appointed as the new Shrine Priest at Walsingham.  His prayerful and deeply spiritual priesthood makes him ideal for this demanding role, in which prayer and liturgy and pastoral care are the central tasks.  Many thousands of pilgrims visit Walsingham each year, and in Fr Ben they will encounter a warm and caring and welcoming priest who will serve them faithfully.  I will miss Ben immensely, although at present it is of course not possible to know when he will be able to assume post, and until then he continues to serve as Bishop’s Chaplain.  But I take the opportunity to thank him most warmly for all his work here in support of my ministry, and also for the other roles that he has undertaken: Chaplain to the Hospice, Chaplain to the Mothers’ Union, Mental Health Chaplain, Trustee of the charity Housing Matters, and ’Priest-at-Large’ covering St Matthew’s and parishes in the North during the current vacancies, and helping at Malew and Santan during their vacancy last year.  Danni, Jorja and Bethany have all contributed to our diocesan life too, in ways that I hope we will be able to mark before departure.  For now, I ask us to rejoice with Fr Ben in his new appointment and to pray for Danni, Ben and their family as they prepare to move later in the year, at a date to be confirmed in due course.