Our Bishop     

Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA, Sixth Bishop of Lancaster 

Bishop Michael Campbell OSA, was born in Larne, N. Ireland, on 2nd October 1941. He comes from a family of six: three brothers and two sisters. After attending Campion House, Osterley, 1960-1962, he entered the Augustinian Order at Clare Priory in August 1962.  

On completion of his novitiate Bishop Campbell studied philosophy in Dublin for two years, and subsequently obtained BA in Semitic languages in UniversityCollege, Dublin.  He completed his studies for the priesthood at the GregorianUniversity, Rome, 1968-1972, having been ordained priest by Lancaster's Auxiliary Bishop Pearson in the chapel of Austin Friars School, Carlisle on 16th September 1971.   He served as teacher-chaplain at Christ the King School, Southport, and also as parish curate at St John Stone’s 1972-1975. From 1972-1985 he served in St Monica’s, Hoxton, London as Prior of the community and teacher-chaplain at Bishop Challoner Girls’ School in the East End of London. During this period he obtained his Master’s degree in Biblical Studies from King’s College.    

Bishop Campbell served in Jos, Northern Nigeria at St Augustine’s Major Seminary when he lectured in Scripture 1985 -1989.  He then worked in the Diocese of Lancaster, teaching at Austin Friars School and holding the post of Episcopal Vicar for Religious under the late Bishop Brewer, 1990- 1999.  For the last eight years he has been Prior and Parish Priest of St Augustine’s Parish, Hammersmith in the archdiocese of Westminster, where he has been Episcopal Vicar for religious.     On Monday, 31 March 2008, Bishop Campbell was ordained Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster at St Peter’s Cathedral Lancaster by Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, Fifth Bishop of Lancaster. 

In what was an historic event; Bishop Campbell was the first Augustinian Friar to be ordained to be Diocesan Bishop in England since the Reformation of the 16th century and the first bishop to be ordained in St Peter’s Cathedral for 46 years.   As coadjutor he assisted Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue in the care of the Diocese for 13 months until he eventually succeded him on 1 May 2009.

Bishop Campbell is now the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Lancaster and busy with the pastoral care of the Diocese. By December 2009 the Bishop had visited a good proportion of the Diocese's parishes, most of the secondary schools and many of the Catholic primary schools. In April 2009, the Bishop was appointed to the Bishops' Conference Department for Life & Worship. In November 2009, Bishop Campbell was appointed as one of the three Episcopal Visitors to the English Seminaries abroad and as a member of the ICEL Orations Editorial Committee (OEC), which hold meetings for two periods each year.