Canon David McGough, parish priest of Our Lady and All Saints, in Stourbridge, West Midlands, has today been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Bishop-elect Canon David McGough, said today: “I am naturally overwhelmed that the Holy Father has invited me to the ministry of Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
“As a parish priest it has been my privilege to see God in the joys and sorrows of so many ordinary people. I thank them, and pray that the Lord will continue to support me through a close association with the families and clergy of our parishes.”
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, said: “I am thrilled at this news. David will be an excellent bishop, bringing to his new ministry not only his scriptural scholarship but also many years experience as a dedicated parish priest.”
Archbishop Nichols, added: “The entire family of the Archdiocese of Birmingham is enriched by this appointment. We assure David of our prayers and full support.”
The Episcopal ordination of the new Bishop-elect will take place at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham, on Thursday 8 December, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major Patronal Feast of the Diocese.
Bishop-elect Canon David Christopher McGough was born on 20 November 1944 in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. He attended the Sacred Heart School, Tunstall, St Joseph’s Preparatory School, Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, and Cotton College, North Staffordshire.
He studied for the priesthood at St Mary’s College, Oscott, the Diocesan Seminary, Sutton Coldfield, from 1963. He also studied at the Venerable English College in Rome and obtained a degree in Theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on 14 March 1970 by Bishop Joseph Cleary in his home Parish, the Sacred Heart, Tunstall. After a year teaching at the Diocesan Seminary he returned to Rome for Post Graduate Studies and gained a degree in Sacred Scripture in 1974.
Canon McGough spent 15 years teaching Sacred Scripture to students for the Catholic Priesthood at Oscott College from 1974 until 1989. In 1986 he was appointed as Parish Priest at Christ the King, Kingstanding, Birmingham. He has been Parish Priest at Our Lady and All Saints, Stourbridge, since 1990.
His other responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Birmingham have been as Dean of the Dudley Deanery, and Canon of St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham. He was appointed Episcopal Vicar for Walsall, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Worcestershire in 2004.
His hobbies are photography and heritage railways. He follows Stoke City Football Club from a distance.
