Eagle-eyed observers will have noted that three out of the four most recent episcopal appointments in England and Wales have come from religious orders. Last week, Fr Alan Williams, a Marist priest, was named the next Bishop of Brentwood, making two Marists in the hierarchy (the first being the Bishop of Menevia, Tom Burns). Fr Williams’ move came just weeks after news that a Dominican friar, Bishop Malcolm McMahon, was to become the next Archbishop of Liverpool and that Fr Robert Byrne, an Oratorian priest, was to take a position as an auxiliary in Birmingham. England and Wales is no stranger to having Religious as bishops, with numerous Benedictines leading dioceses over the years. A papal bull from Benedict XV in 1920 stated there should be a Benedictine bishop in England and Wal