Resignation and appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Cardiff, Wales, appointment of bishop of Menevia, and union in persona Episcopi of the two sees

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan archdiocese of Cardiff, Wales, presented by Archbishop George Stack.

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Mark O’Toole of Plymouth, England, as metropolitan archbishop of Cardiff and bishop of Menevia, Wales, uniting the two sees in persona Episcopi.

Curriculum vitae

Archbishop-elect Mark O’Toole was born in London on 22 June 1963. After secondary school he obtained a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Leicester, and in theology from Heythrop College, London. He was subsequently awarded a degree in philosophy from Campion Hall in Oxford, and in theology from the Pontifical University of Leuven.

He was ordained a priest on 9 June 1990 for the metropolitan archdiocese of Westminster.

He has served as deputy priest of Willesden Green, dean of studies of the Allen Hall Seminary (1996-2002), and since 2008, rector. In 2002 he was appointed as personal secretary to Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor.

He has served as a member of the Ethical Committee of Saint John and Saint Elizabeth Hospital, and is advisor to the Faculty of Theology at Heythrop College, London.

On 9 November 2013 he was appointed as bishop of Plymouth, receiving episcopal consecration on 28 January 2014.

Within the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, he is president of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis. He is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.