New bishop follows Francis with plans for plain ministry

SALFORD’S NEW bishop has pledged to follow Pope Francis’ exhortation to stay close to his people and is considering giving up his episcopal residence, a Grade I listed manor house.

Bishop John Arnold (pictured right), a Westminster auxiliary who has worked closely with Cardinal Vincent Nichols for the last five years, was appointed on Tuesday to the large, historic ­diocese that covers much of Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire.

Originally from Sheffield, the 61-year-old bishop said he believed that Pope Francis was right to “rattle the cage” of bishops and make some rethink their priorities. “I do believe that a bishop belongs among his people. Sometimes, as Francis says, that is to lead, sometimes to simply be with and sometimes be round the back to make sure no one gets left behind,” he told The Tablet.

Bishop Arnold said he would be examining options about whether to live at Wardley Hall, a ­sixteenth-century recusant home standing on the site of a earlier house dating from 1300. Housing the skull of St Ambrose Barlow, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, Wardley Hall was sold to the diocese in 1930. While stressing the house’s history and the pride people take in it, Bishop Arnold said: “There are lots of different aspects about making a decision in the future about quite what the house might be used for, whether I stay there or move somewhere more central. I think, lay all the options open and see what discernment there can be.” Bishop Arnold, a former barrister renowned for his administration skills, said he would continue to build on local relationships established with other faiths in areas such as “peace, justice, equality and education”.

Alongside 150 parishes and a Mass attendance of around 58,000, Salford has 169 primary schools, 32 secondaries and four sixth-form colleges.  He succeeds Bishop Terence Brain and will be installed on 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.