Marcus Stock (born 27 August 1961) is an English bishop of the Catholic Church who has been the tenth Bishop of Leeds since 2014.

Early life

Marcus Nigel Ralph Stock was born on 27 August 1961 in London, England. He attended Oxford University, studying theology at Keble College. He entered training for the priesthood at the Venerable English College and was awarded a

Licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

in Dogmatic Theology by the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained a Deacon whilst in Rome by Cardinal

Basil Hume George Basil Hume OSB OM (2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic bishop. He was a monk and priest of the English Benedictine monastery of Ampleforth Abbey and its abbot for 13 years until his appointment as Archbishop of Wes ...

, the then

Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

Priestly ministry

Marcus Stock was ordained a priest in 1988 by Maurice Couve de Murville,

Archbishop of Birmingham The Archbishop of Birmingham heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in England. As such he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Birmingham. The archdiocese covers an area of and spans of the counties of Oxfordshire, S ...

, and served in parishes across the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

. Between 1991 and 1994, Stock was a teacher of Religious Education at the European School, Culham. He was appointed assistant director before being promoted to Director of the Archdiocesan Schools Commission between 1999 and 2009, before being appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in the same year by Vincent Nichols,

. He led the Bishops' Conference during the Papal Visit to the UK in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and was in interim charge of the Catholic Education Service after the resignation of Oona Stannard. Shortly before his appointment as Bishop of Leeds it was announced that he would be succeeded at the Bishops' Conference by Christopher Thomas from the

Diocese of Nottingham The Diocese of Nottingham, England, is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite and a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Diocese of Westminster. The diocese covers an area of , taking in the English counties of ...

at the conclusion of his five-year term. In 2012, Marcus Stock was appointed Prelate of Honour by Pope Benedict XVI.

Episcopal career

Pope Francis appointed Stock to the See of Leeds on 15 September 2014. He chose the episcopal motto ''Desiderio, desideravi'' (Luke, 22:15) which translates as ''I have desired with desire to be with you'' or ''I have eagerly desired'', referring to Jesus' fervent desire to celebrate the Passover with his

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in ...

before his death. Stock attended Solemn Vespers on the eve of his consecration as bishop, where his episcopal insignia ( ring, mitre and

crozier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

) were blessed by

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (mathematician) (1741–1793), English mathematician and judge * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wil ...

, the Diocesan Administrator (Vicar Capitular) for the Diocese of Leeds. His

was given as a gift from Stock's previous diocese, the

. On 13 November 2014, Stock was consecrated the tenth Bishop of Leeds by Vincent Cardinal Nichols, along with the co-consecrators Bernard Longley,

(from the diocese Stock had previously ministered in) and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Apostolic Administrator and Bishop ''emeritus'' of Leeds (whom Stock succeeded). Stock issued a pastoral letter on 25 September 2016 on ''Sacramental Preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation and the Provision of Youth Services'', changing the age at which the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

is generally conferred on young people from the age of 11 to 14, with consequential changes to the ages at which young people generally first receive the sacraments of reconciliation and

holy communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

.Appendix A: Sacramental Preparation in the Diocese of Leeds: First Sacraments and the Sacrament of Confirmation
25 September 2016, accessed 4 February 2018

References

External links

*
Right Reverend Marcus Nigel Stock, MA, STL, Tenth Bishop of Leeds
Profile on Diocese of Leeds website {{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Marcus Living people 1961 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Roman Catholic clergy from London Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Leeds English College, Rome alumni English Roman Catholic bishops