Alan Charles Clark (9 August 1919 – 16 July 2002) was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of East Anglia in the Ecclesiastical Province of Westminster, England.


Alan Charles Clark
Bishop of East Anglia
ProvinceWestminster
DioceseEast Anglia
Appointed26 April 1976
Term ended21 March 1995
PredecessorNew title
SuccessorPeter Smith
Other post(s)Co-chairman of ARCIC
Previous post(s)
Orders
Ordination11 February 1945
Consecration13 May 1969
by Charles Alexander Grant
Personal details
Born
Alan Charles Clark

(1919-08-09)9 August 1919
Bickley, Kent, England
Died16 July 2002(2002-07-16) (aged 82)
NationalityBritish
DenominationRoman Catholic
Mottoaddictus ministerio Christi
Coat of armsAlan Charles Clark's coat of arms

Early life

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Born in Bickley, Kent on 9 August 1919, Alan Charles Clark was the son of parents who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. He was ordained to the priesthood on 11 February 1945.[1]

Episcopal career

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Clark was appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop of Northampton and Titular Bishop of Elmhama by the Holy See on 31 March 1969. Two months after, he was consecrated to the Episcopate on 13 May 1969. The principal consecrator was Bishop Charles Alexander Grant of Northampton, and the principal co-consecrators were Archbishop Cyril Conrad Cowderoy of Southwark and Archbishop John Aloysius Murphy of Cardiff. He also became co-chairman of the Anglican—Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).[1]

On 13 March 1976, the new Diocese of East Anglia was established, and Alan Clark was appointed its first bishop on 26 April 1976. He was installed at the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich on 2 June 1976. As the bishop of the new diocese, Alan Clark had to set up all the necessary instruments and commissions for the diocese to operate successfully. He retired on 21 March 1995, Following his 75th birthday in August 1994, and assumed the title Bishop Emeritus of East Anglia. On 2 June 2001, Bishop Clark celebrated the 25th anniversary of his installation as the first bishop of the diocese.[1]

Alan Charles Clark died on 16 July 2002, at the age of 82. He is buried at the National Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bishop Alan Charles Clark". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  2. ^ Larsen, Chris. Catholic Bishops of Great Britain, Sacristy Press, 2016, p. 141ISBN 9781910519257
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Catholic Church titles
New title Titular Bishop of Elmhama
1969 - 1976
Succeeded by
New title Bishop of East Anglia
1976 - 1995
Succeeded by
  NODES
see 1