News

The Archdiocese of Southwark announces the following appointments.

Parish Priests

• Father Pawel Sobol currently serving as parish priest of the parish of St Simon Stock, Walderslade has been appointed as parish priest of St Bede’s, Clapham Park.
• Father James Clark currently serving as parish priest of the parish of The Faithful Virgin, Upper Norwood has been appointed as parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lee.
• Canon Liam Gallagher currently serving as parish priest of St Francis, Maidstone has been appointed as parish priest of Christ the King, Wimbledon Park.
• Canon John Diver currently serving as parish priest of the parishes of St John the Baptist, Westerham and St Theresa’s, Biggin Hill has been appointed as parish priest of St Francis, Maidstone.
• Father Mebrate Desalegn currently serving as assistant priest in the parish of Corpus Christi, Brixton Hill, has been appointed as parish priest of English Martyrs, Strood.
• Father Thomas Lynch currently serving as parish priest of the parish of The English Martyrs, Strood has been appointed as parish priest of Our Ladye Star of the Sea, Greenwich.
• Canon Gregory Verissimo currently on sabbatical, will return to the diocese in September to take up a new appointment as parish priest of The Good Shepherd, Downham.
• Father Oliver Antao currently parish priest of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen has been appointed as parish priest of St Peter, Bearsted and Harrietsham. He will take up his new appointment from 1 December 2025, following a short sabbatical from September to December.

Parochial Administrators

• Father Vincent Nnatuanya CSSp currently serving as assistant priest in the parishes of Our Lady of Grace, Charlton and St Joseph’s, Shooters Hill has been appointed as parochial administrator of both parishes as of 5 May 2025.
• Father Joseph Donkor currently serving as Sub Dean at St George’s Cathedral has been appointed as parochial administrator of St Simon Stock, Walderslade.
• Father Simon Peter Lubuulwa currently serving as assistant priest in the parish of St Francis, Maidstone has been appointed as parochial administrator of St John Fisher, Kidbrooke.
• Father John Olaniran currently serving as assistant priest in the parish of St Edmund, Beckenham has been appointed as parochial administrator of St John the Baptist, Westerham and St Theresa’s, Biggin Hill.
• Father Antony Arulraj currently serving as assistant priest in the parish of St Boniface, Tooting has been appointed as parochial administrator of St Thomas Aquinas, Ham.
• Father Chukwuemeka Nnaji currently serving as parochial administrator of the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, Lee has been appointed as parochial administrator of St Vincent’s, Dartford.
• Father Biju John currently serving as a temporary assistant priest in the parish of Purley, has been appointed as parochial administrator of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen.
• Father Joseph Edem currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of St John Fisher, Merton has been appointed as parochial administrator of the parish of St Anthony of Padua, Anerley.
• Father Daniel Eteudoh currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of St Thomas More, Dulwich has been appointed as parochial administrator of St James the Great, Petts Wood.
• Father Tomasz Margol currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of Our Lady of the Annunciation, Addiscombe has been appointed as parochial administrator of The Faithful Virgin, Upper Norwood.
• Father Sebastian Joseph of the Diocese of Quilon (Kerala) has been appointed as parochial administrator of the parish of Kennington Park as of 1 July. He has previous experience of working in the United Kingdom in the Diocese of Westminster.
• Father Godwin Alkali CSSp, currently assistant priest in the parish of St Paul, Dover, has been appointed as parochial administrator of St Michael’s, Chatham. This is to cover during the illness of the current parish priest, Father Peter Ehinmiro CSSp. The appointment, which took effect as of the 1 July 2025, will continue until the parish priest is able to resume his duties in the parish.

Assistant Priests

• Father Michael Etuka currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of Our Lady of Reparation, West Croydon, has been appointed as assistant priest at St Thomas of Canterbury, Canterbury.
• Father Alan MacDonald currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of St Lawrence of Canterbury, Sidcup has been appointed as assistant priest at St Thomas More, Dulwich.
• Father Joseph Gulliford currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of St Thomas More, Dulwich, has been appointed as assistant priest at St George’s Cathedral.
• Father John Howard currently serving as an assistant priest in the parish of St Augustine, Tunbridge Wells, has been appointed as assistant priest at St John the Baptist, Purley.
• Father Jackson Sebastian currently serving as assistant priest at Sacred Heart, Wimbledon has been appointed as Sub Dean at St George’s Cathedral.
• Father Marcel Uzoigwe CSSp has been appointed as assistant priest in the parishes of Our Lady of Grace, Charlton and St Joseph’s, Shooters Hill.
• Father Shaiju Peter of the Diocese of Kannur (India) has arrived in the UK and will be working in the Archdiocese as a long-term supply priest. He has been appointed as an assistant priest in the parish of St Thomas of Canterbury, Sevenoaks.

Retirements

The following clergy will be retiring, and we express our sincere thanks for their dedicated service in the Archdiocese.

• Canon John Kavanagh
• Father Anthony Plummer
• Father Patrick Zammit
• Father Kevin Robinson
• Father Geoffrey Pointer will be retiring at the end of November 2025. Father Geoffrey has kindly agreed to remain in post until Father Oliver Antao returns from sabbatical in December.

Further Appointments

The following clergy will be leaving the Archdiocese in the next few weeks and we

thank them for their service to the parishes where they have ministered:

• Father Hyacinth Ogbodo CSSp
• Father Tomas Wargacki
• Father Roshy Robert OFM Cap
• Father George Ajana
• Father Antony Vijayan Jerome
• Father Gerard Balinnya

Other notices

• We wish Father Francesco Buttazzo CS all the best as he leaves his post as parish priest of the Italian Mission in Brixton to become Regional Superior of the Scalabrini Fathers. He will be moving to Switzerland to take up this new appointment.
• Father Giovanni Prandini will be moving to Rome in September to commence further studies.
• Father David Camilleri will be taking a period of sabbatical and we wish him well and look forward to his return to the Archdiocese next year.

We also wish to welcome the following clergy who will be coming to the Archdiocese over the next few months:

• Father Jonas Andrés Donassollo CS has been appointed the new Superior and parish priest of the Holy Redeemer – Italian Mission, Brixton.
• Father Patrick O’Keeffe O Carm will be joining the Carmelite community in Faversham.
• Father Marcel Uzoigwe CSSp will be joining the Spiritan community in Charlton and Shooters Hill parishes and will be resident at Shooters Hill.

Diaconal Appointments

• Deacon Ray Williamson currently serving in the Deanery of Bromley and ministering in the parish of Beckenham will be moving to Kent in the summer. He has been appointed to the Deanery of Tunbridge Wells for service in the parish of Tunbridge Wells.
• Deacon Chigbo Ugwuoke who has been serving in the Cathedral Deanery and ministering in the parish of Kennington Park has recently taken up a new appointment as RC Chaplain at HMP Elmley and he has been appointed for diaconal ministry in the Chatham Deanery.

Please join us in praying for all the clergy in our Archdiocese.

Further appointments will be announced in due course.