Marcus Stock (born 27 August 1961) is an English bishop of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, studying theology at Keble College. He entered training for the priesthood at the

Venerable English College The Venerable English College (), commonly referred to as the English College, is a Catholic seminary in Rome, Italy, for the training of priests for England and Wales. It was founded in 1579 by William Allen on the model of the English Colleg ...

and was awarded a

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in Dogmatic Theology by the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. He was ordained a

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whilst in Rome by Cardinal

Basil Hume George Basil Hume (born George Haliburton Hume; 2 March 1923 – 17 June 1999) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999. A member of the Benedictines, he was made a cardinal i ...

, the then Archbishop of Westminster.

Priestly ministry

Marcus Stock was ordained a priest in 1988 by Maurice Couve de Murville, Archbishop of Birmingham, and served in parishes across the Archdiocese of Birmingham, including Bloxwich and Coleshill, being appointed parish priest of the latter in 2000. 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 The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Overview The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishop ...

in the same year by Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. He led the Bishops' Conference during the Papal Visit to the UK in 2010 by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and was in interim charge of the

Catholic Education Service The Catholic Education Service (CES) is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW), whose object is the advancement of the Christian religion, primarily through education. History The CES has its roots in the ...

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

Episcopal career

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

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 Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' fervent desire to celebrate the

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

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

and

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) were blessed by John Wilson, the

Diocesan Administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

(Vicar Capitular) for the Diocese of Leeds. His

was given as a gift from Stock's previous diocese, the Archdiocese of Birmingham. On 13 November 2014, Stock was consecrated the tenth Bishop of Leeds by Vincent Cardinal Nichols, along with the co-consecrators Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham (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 A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circu ...

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 Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

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

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and

holy communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

.Diocese of Leeds
Appendix A: Sacramental Preparation in the Diocese of Leeds: First Sacraments and the Sacrament of Confirmation
25 September 2016, archived 5 February 2018, accessed 28 August 2023

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