Charles Joseph Henderson, KC*HS was born in

County Waterford, Ireland County Waterford () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. Waterford City and County Council is the local authority for the county. The population o ...

on 14 April 1924, where he was ordained as a priest on 6 June 1948. He was educated locally by the Christian Brothers and trained for the priesthood in

St. John's College, Waterford St John's College (or St John's Seminary) was a Roman Catholic seminary founded in 1807 for the diocese of Waterford and Lismore. Foundation The college was founded by Bishop John Power DD. It was one of many seminaries founded in Ireland fo ...

. Based in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Henderson was appointed vicar general of the new diocese

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton () is a diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey (excluding Spelthorne, which is part of the Diocese of Westminster). The diocese was erected on 28 May 1965 by Pop ...

, which was created out of Southwark in 1965. He was made a

papal chamberlain A papal gentleman, formally a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

in 1960 and a prelate to the papal household in 1965. In 1969 he was appointed as the parish priest of Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Blackheath. On 8 December 1972 at St George's Cathedral (Southwark), Archbishop

Cyril Cowderoy Cyril Conrad Cowderoy (5 May 1905 – 10 October 1976) was a priest for over 45 years and a bishop for over 26 years in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Cowderoy was born in Sidcup, Kent, on 5 May 1905 and ordained a priest in ...

ordained him as an auxiliary bishop in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and titular Bishop of Tricala. After the death of Archbishop Cowderoy in October 1976, he was put in charge of the diocese until the installation of Archbishop Michael Bowen in April 1977. In 1980 he was given responsibility for south-east London.

Ecumenism

In 1976, he was appointed to the Ecumenical Commission for England and Wales. He was a member of the English Anglican/RC Committee (ARCIC) from 1982 to 1992, and a member of the Methodist/RC Committee from 1983 to 1992. Between 1982 and 1986 he served as a Catholic consultor and observer at the

British Council of Churches Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Ce ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

recognised his expertise and knowledge in inter-faith dialogue by appointing him to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 1990. He was also chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Catholic to Jewish Relations from 1992 to 2001, vice-chairman of the Council for Christians and Jews for many years, and a member of the Churches' Commission for Interfaith Relations (1994–2002). In 2001 he was awarded the Interfaith Gold Medallion from the Sternberg Charitable Foundation. He was also chairman of the finance advisory committee of the UK's National Catholic Fund (1988–2000).

Resignation/Honours

On 26 January 2001,

accepted his official resignation. In 1973 he was given the Freedom of the City of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

(an honour also shared by

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist par ...

and

Anna Manahan Anna Maria Manahan (18 October 1924 – 8 March 2009) was an Irish stage, film and television actress. Manahan received two Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nominations for her performances in the 1968 production of '' Lovers'' a ...

). The same year, he was also made a Knight Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He continued to travel for many years to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

several times to visit the Pattaya Orphanage Trust (of which he was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

). He also frequently visited his native Waterford, Ireland, at least twice a year.

Quote

In 1998, he remarked: "''We have achieved in my lifetime as a bishop the undoing of the damage of the Reformation.''"

Death

Diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, he died on 10 April 2006, aged 81, at Park House, Blackheath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Charles (bishop) 1924 births 2006 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Waterford 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Christian clergy from County Waterford Deaths from cancer in England Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre