Bishop Séamus has appointed Fr Andrew Downie as Parish Priest of St Cuthbert’s and Catholic Chaplain to Durham University in succession to fr. Ben. The formal handover will happen later in the summer.

Fr Andrew is a native of Sunderland; he studied Natural Sciences at the Cambridge and later qualified as a solicitor. He trained for the priesthood at the Venerable English College, Rome, where he gained a Licence in Fundamental Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Ordained priest in 2002, Fr Andrew is currently parish priest of St Patrick’s and St Pius X, Consett,  having served in the past as Vocations Director for the diocese and Chaplain at the Universities of Newcastle and Northumberland.

Fr Andrew has a special interest in the teaching of Vatican II, and in the encounter of faith with contemporary culture, and is studying for a PhD part-time in the University’s Department of Theology and Religion.