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A profile of the Late Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, Bishop Howard Tripp.
The Right Reverend Howard George Tripp served as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Southwark from 30 January 1980 to 7 January 2004.
He was born in Croydon, Surrey on 3 July 1927 and attended the John Fisher School, Purley.
Bishop Tripp trained for the priesthood at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh and was ordained priest on 31 May 1953 at St Gertrude’s Church, Croydon by Archbishop Cowderoy.
His first appointment was at Blackheath. He then served as assistant priest in Our Lady Queen of Peace, East Sheen from 1956-1962 before becoming parish priest there from 1965-1971. Aged 38, he was the youngest parish priest in the Southwark Diocese. During his time at East Sheen, he was appointed Diocesan Convent Organiser (1958) and Assistant Diocesan Financial Secretary (1962). He held both posts until 1968.
From 1971-1980, he served as the Director of the Southwark Children’s Society.
On 30 January 1980 he was ordained Bishop of the titular see of Newport and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, and given special responsibility for an area loosely categorised as South West London, stretching from the Surrey Docks to Surbiton and from Southwark to Croydon.
He was Ecclesiastical Adviser to the Knights of St Columba from 1981 to 1991. He was the Chairman of the Committee for Public Life, President of the Catholic Child Welfare Council and represented the Catholic Church on the Churches’ Committee for Hospital Chaplaincy. He was also a member of the London Churches Group, a Director of the London Churches Employment Development Unit and represented the Archdiocese of Southwark among the London Church Leaders.
Throughout his priesthood, Bishop Tripp was interested in social welfare and housing and was a founder member of the Richmond-upon-Thames Churches’ Housing Trust.
He was Ecclesiastical Adviser to the Catholic Union of Great Britain and, for a number of years, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage Trust.
Nationally, he was the Ecclesiastical Assistant to the Catholic Association for Racial Justice and, in the Archdiocese of Southwark, he chaired the Diocesan Commission for Liturgy and co-ordinated the Ethnic Chaplains Group.
He served as an Auxiliary Bishop until his retirement on 7 January 2004.
Bishop Howard Tripp completed his long and fruitful earthly pilgrimage on Monday, 3 October 2022.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
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