The former Church in Wales Bishop of Monmouth, the Rt. Rev. Richard Pain, has been received into the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for England and Wales
The Right Revd Richard Pain, a former Bishop of Monmouth, will be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church within the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, on Sunday 2 July at St Basil & St Gwladys, Rogerstone Newport. He will be received by The Rt Revd Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
Monsignor Newton said: ’We are delighted that after much prayer Richard has asked to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. He will be the first bishop from the Anglican Church in Wales to be received into the Ordinariate since its creation in 2011. Richard has a long and distinguished ministry in the Church in Wales. He has many gifts which he will continue to use to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Wales’
Commenting on his forthcoming reception, Richard expressed joy at this next step of his Christian journey. ‘Having retired from episcopal ministry three years ago, I have had time to reflect on the retiree’s perennial question- what next? The process of discernment continues throughout life and is constantly shaped by context but more importantly by the whisper of God’s voice.
The Benedictine understanding of obedience – hearing the Lord- has been significant to my personal formation. The call to conversion which follows has led me to becoming a convert to the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate.
I have much to be grateful for the experience gained over a lifetime as an Anglican. Yet the call to Catholicism seems natural and spiritual at the same time. To start afresh will be a welcome challenge and I come – as we all do – as a learner and a disciple. The Ordinariate, through the vision of Pope Benedict, provides a generous pathway to walk a pilgrim way and I ask for your prayers.’
Richard Pain was born in London in 1956. He went to Bristol University where he studied English Literature and then received his second degree in Theology at University of Wales, Cardiff whilst training for the Anglican ministry. Richard was ordained a priest in the Church in Wales at Newport Cathedral in 1986. He has served all his ministry in the Diocese of Monmouth, working in the valleys as well as in the heart of Monmouthshire. He served as Vicar of Monmouth, then as Archdeacon of Monmouth and was elected Bishop of Monmouth in 2013. Richard spent many years in the discernment and training of clergy. He was lead Bishop for ministry in the Church in Wales and was chair of the St Padarn’s Institute at its formation in 2016.
Richard retired as Bishop of Monmouth in 2019. He has been married to Juliet for over forty years and they have two sons. Richard enjoys photography and the classical guitar.
The Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is a structure similar to a diocese, inaugurated under the late Pope Benedict XVI to allow former Anglicans to enter the full communion of the Catholic Church whilst retaining some elements of the Anglican tradition that nurtured its members. It has its own Eucharistic liturgy which preserves some elements of the Book of Common Prayer.
