Charles Phillip Richard Moth (born 8 July 1958) is a British

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

. Since May 2015, he has served as the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Previously, he was

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of Southwark from 2001 to 2009, and the Bishop of the Forces from 2009 to 2015.

Early life

Charles Phillip Richard Moth was born in 1958 in Chingola,

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

(now

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

), and immigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at the age of two. He was educated at The Judd School in

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He trained for the priesthood at St John's Seminary, Wonersh.

Ordained ministry

Priesthood

Moth was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 3 July 1982. He served as Curate at St Bede's, Clapham Park and as a judge at the Southwark Metropolitan Tribunal before being sent to do further study in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, gaining a Licentiate and then a Master's in

Canon Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

. In 1987 he returned to Southwark and was curate at St Saviour's,

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, during which appointment he was also a Territorial Army

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

, serving with 217 General Hospital RAMC (V). In 1992, Archbishop Michael Bowen named him as his Private Secretary, serving concurrently as Vocations Director and Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese. Moth was named a

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

to the degree of Papal Chaplain in 1998. In 2001, upon the elevation of the Vicar General, Mgr Canon John Hine, to be an

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

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 ...

, Moth was named

and Chancellor of the Archdiocese, with the new post he was promoted to be a Prelate of Honour.

Episcopate

In July 2009, Moth was appointed Bishop of the Forces by Pope Benedict XVI. He stepped down as Vicar General of Southwark and was succeeded by Mgr. Matthew Dickens in September 2009. He was consecrated bishop on 29 September 2009, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, in

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

. Archbishop Kevin McDonald was principal consecrator, with Archbishop Michael Bowen and Bishop Tom Burns as principal co-consecrators. Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Cardinals Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and Keith O'Brien were present in choir. His time as Bishop of the Forces ended in 2015 when he was translated to a different see. On 21 March 2015, Moth was announced as the next Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, having been appointed by

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 ...

. He was installed on 28 May 2015.

References

Bibliography

Bishop-elect Richard Moth
''Archdiocese of Southwark''. Retrieved 12 September 2009.

''Catholic Hierarchy''. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
New Bishop of the Forces
''Catholic Church in England and Wales''. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
Bishop Richard Moth
''Catholic Church in England and Wales''. Retrieved 12 September 2009.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moth, Richard 1958 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Arundel and Brighton Roman Catholic bishops of the Forces 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers English Roman Catholic bishops