Pope Leo XIV has named Timothy Menezes, a Birmingham auxiliary bishop, as the eighth Bishop of Brentwood. He is installed at Brentwood Cathedral on 3 December.
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Timothy Menezes as the new Bishop of Brentwood. He will be the eighth bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese whose cathedral stands on Ingrave Road.
The appointment was announced on Saturday 10 October. The Diocese of Brentwood published it the same day.
Bishop Timothy, who is 56, has until now been an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He will be installed at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Helen in Brentwood on Thursday 3 December.
Who he replaces
He succeeds Bishop Alan Williams SM, who has led the diocese since 2014. Bishop Alan turned 75 on 15 March 2026. The diocese says the Pope has now accepted his resignation.
Bishop Alan said he was “delighted” by the choice. He described the diocese as “a diverse and welcoming community of parishes and schools in Essex and East London”.
What the new bishop said
Bishop Timothy called the appointment “a great privilege”. He said there would be “much to learn”, and asked the people, clergy and religious of the diocese to pray for him.
“I look forward to building on Bishop Alan’s good work in the diocese,” he said.
A Birmingham priest for three decades
Bishop Timothy was born in Kings Heath, Birmingham, on 18 July 1970, and has served there all his working life. The diocese’s biography lists his main posts:
- ordained priest on 22 July 1995 at St Dunstan’s, Kings Heath, his childhood parish
- assistant priest at St Michael’s, Wolverhampton, from 1996 to 1998, then at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Redditch
- secretary to the then Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, from 2000
- parish priest of St Thomas More, Coventry, from 2004 to 2011
- Vicar General of the Archdiocese from 2011 to 2019
- Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral from 2019
- appointed an Auxiliary Bishop by Pope Francis on 25 April 2024, and ordained bishop on 16 July 2024
He studied for the priesthood at St Mary’s College, Oscott, and the Venerable English College in Rome. He also holds a Licentiate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome.
The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, ordained him bishop. He said Bishop Timothy would be missed across the Episcopal Area of Staffordshire, the Black Country and Wolverhampton, which he had served.
The Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth, welcomed him to the Province of Westminster. Archbishop Moth is also President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
The diocese he takes on
The Diocese of Brentwood was created in 1917. According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, it covers:
- the administrative county of Essex
- Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock
- the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest
Its seat is Brentwood Cathedral. The classical building by Quinlan Terry was consecrated in 1991, and its long-serving organist retired this summer.
What it means for you
- The installation Mass is on Thursday 3 December at Brentwood Cathedral, Ingrave Road. That date is the memorial of St Francis Xavier. The diocese has not yet said whether the Mass will be open to the public or streamed.
- Cathedral House on Ingrave Road is the diocese’s contact point, on 01277 232266.
We will update this page when the diocese publishes the arrangements for 3 December.
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