THE next Suffragan Bishop of Richborough is to be the Ven. Luke Irvine-Capel SSC, the Archdeacon of Chichester since 2019, Downing Street announced on Tuesday.

He succeeds the Rt Revd Norman Banks, who retired on Easter Day last year. He will provide episcopal oversight for traditionalist Anglo-Catholic parishes, serving on the Council of The Society.

Archdeacon Irvine-Capel trained for ordination at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield. He was ordained priest in 2000, served his title in Monmouth diocese, and was a minor canon of Newport Cathedral.

In 2003, he moved to London diocese, to serve first as Rector of Cranford, until 2008, and then Vicar of St Gabriel’s, Pimlico, until 2013. From here, he moved to Chichester diocese, serving as Rector of St Leonards, and Priest-in-Charge of St Clement’s and All Saints’, Hastings, until he took up his current post.

Archdeacon Irvine-Capel said that he was “deeply humbled” by his appointment. “I am aware of the very great trust that has been placed in me, and all that I must learn about this beautiful and diverse see. With the prayers and support of all the Richborough parishes, I will do my very best to be a worthy and diligent pastor to them, and to the wider Church.”

The see of Richborough takes its name from the site of an early Christian community in Kent, established around the time of the arrival of St Augustine in 597AD. It serves the dioceses in the eastern part of the Province of Canterbury — Canterbury, Ely, Chelmsford, Guildford, Leicester, Lincoln, Norwich, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Rochester, St Albans, St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Winchester, and Europe.

Archdeacon Irvine-Capel and his family will be based in Portsmouth diocese when he takes up the post next year. The date and venue for his consecration have yet to be confirmed.

The Bishop of Portsmouth, Dr Jonathan Frost, said: “We recognise that we may not see much of him, as his new role will take him to many other dioceses. But we’d like him to feel that whenever he returns to our diocese, he is coming home.

“We want to assure him of our prayers, to see him enfolded within God’s love as he serves in this important ministry, and to assure him of our commitment to mutual flourishing.”

The chairman of Forward in Faith, the Rt Revd Paul Thomas, said: “I have no doubt that Fr Luke will teach and promote the Catholic Faith across the See of Richborough with dynamism and good grace, enriching the life of the See in so doing.”