Rome, Italy
March 18, 2010
Rev. Ralph Heskett, C.Ss.R. of
the Province of London appointed Bishop of Gibraltar
 |
Today the Holy Father appointed Rev. Ralph Heskett, C.Ss.R. of the Province of London as the Bishop of Gibraltar. He will succeed Bishop Charles Caruana, KHS., C.St.J., who has surpassed retirement age and was awaiting a successor. Episcopal ordination is expected sometime in June.
Father Heskett was born on March 3, 1953 in Sunderland, England. He grew up in the Redemptorist parish of St. Benet’s. He professed first vows as a Redemptorist on August 28, 1971 and made perpetual profession on August 30, 1974. He was ordained on July 10, 1976.
His first appointment after ordination was to Perth, Scotland
from where he gave a number of Parish and School Missions and
Retreats. After nearly four years in Perth, he was appointed to
Erdington Abbey in Birmingham, England where he combined the work
of Missions and Retreats with being Vocation Director for the
London Province. In 1984 he returned to Perth, first as a member
of the Mission team and later as Rector of the community and director
of the Retreat House. |
His first appointment in full-time parish ministry was in 1990 as parish
priest of the Redemptorist parish in Liverpool where he remained for six
years before taking a sabbatical in 1996. After his sabbatical, he returned
to the province as novice master. Father Heskett was made parish priest
of St Mary’s Clapham in South London in 1999. In the summer of 2008
he returned to Liverpool doing Missions, Retreats and being Vocation Director
once again.
Gibraltar is situated at the southern end of the Iberian peninsula
at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. Besides its interesting geological
formation – it is commonly referred to as the “Rock”
- Gibraltar also has an interesting political, religious and ecclesiastical
history. You can learn more about it from the Diocesan website: http://www.catholicdiocese.gi/diocese/historyofthediocese.html.
Today, governmentally, Gibraltar is a British overseas territory. Before
the 18th century, however, it was part of Spain and part of the diocese
of Cádiz, Spain.
The current diocese of Gibraltar began in 1816 as a Vicariate Apostolic under Rome. It was raised to a diocese in 1910. Presently it has a Catholic population of 21,000 out of a total population of 28,000. There are 5 parishes being served by 15 priests -- 14 diocesan and 1 religious -- 5 male religious and 10 female religious.
Bishop-elect Heskett becomes the third member of the London province
to be raised to the episcopacy after Bishop Robert Aston Coffin, C.Ss.R,
bishop of Southwark, England (1882-1885) and Bishop Hugh McDonald, C.Ss.R.,
bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland (1890-1898)
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