Pope names new Archbishop of Southwark

Pope John Paul has named Kevin McDonald to be the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark. Bishop McDonald is aged 57 and was born in Stoke-on-Trent. He was ordained priest in 1974.

From 1985 until 1993 he worked as an official at the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity in Rome, where he had special responsibility for Anglican and Roman Catholic relations.

The retiring Archbishop Michael Bowen said: "I am delighted that the Holy Father has appointed Bishop McDonald to succeed me. He is an excellent choice and my anxieties for the future of the diocese are now happily resolved."

There has been speculation about the new appointment after unconfirmed reports that the Vatican had rejected three names put forward by the Papal Nuncio.

The installation will take place on Monday 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at Southwark's St George's Cathedral.