Alan Stephen Williams, SM (born 15 March 1951) is an English Roman Catholic prelate and 7th

Bishop of Brentwood The Bishop of Brentwood is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood in the Province of Westminster, England. Overview The diocese covers the historic county of Essex, an area of comprising the non-metropolitan county of Essex, t ...

. He is a member of the Marist Order.

Career

Born in Lancashire in 1951, Alan Williams trained for the priesthood at Allen Hall before which he obtained a Degree in Psychology from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, followed by a PhD in Psychology from London University. He later earned a degree in Theology from the University of Cambridge, and a master's degree in Education from

Hull University The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. He made his final vows with Society of Mary (Marists) in 1981 and was ordained priest on 30 April 1983 at St Anne’s, Whitechapel. Williams served as a school teacher and as Catholic chaplain to

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

. He was subsequently parish priest at St Lawrence of Canterbury,

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

. He is a former major Superior of the Marist Fathers in England, a post he held from 2000 to 2008.. He has also taught Christian Spirituality at postgraduate level. Williams was Appointed Director of the Roman Catholic National Shrine at Walsingham in 2008, where he had overall responsibility for pilgrimage and retreat work. He was appointed the seventh Bishop of Brentwood 14 April 2014 and consecrated on 1 July 2014 by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. In 2003, in conjunction with the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Williams invited Roman Catholics who no longer regularly attended church services to get in touch so that he could listen to their perspectives. The results of his enquiry, researched by Fr Liam Hayes of the Margaret Beaufort Institute, were published in March 2024 under the title "Bishop Alan Listens".Diocese of Brentwood
Diocese publishes results of ‘Bishop Alan Listens’ research report
published 13 March 2024, accessed 17 April 2024

Coat of arms

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alan 1951 births Living people 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 21st-century English Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic bishops of Brentwood Clergy from Lancashire Alumni of the University of Hull Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Grey College, Durham English Roman Catholic bishops