Richard Edward Pain (born 21 September 1956) 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and former

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

prelate who served as

Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth (Welsh: ''Esgob Mynwy)'' is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at Newport Cathedral (commonly k ...

in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

from 2013 to 2019. In June 2023, it was announced he would join 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 ...

via the

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales is a personal ordinariate in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church immediately exempt, being directly subject to the Holy See. It is within the territory of the Catholic ...

. He was ordained a Catholic deacon and then as a Catholic priest in June 2024.

Early life and education

Pain was born on 21 September 1956 in London, England. He studied English Literature at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1979. In 1981, he entered

St Michael's College, Llandaff St Padarn's Institute is a theological training college owned by the Church in Wales, located in Llandaff in the north of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It operates as a residential training college for its full time ministers. The origins of St Pa ...

to train for ordination. He also studied theology at

University of Wales, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

(BD) degree in 1984.

Ordained ministry

Pain 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 ...

in the

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1984 and as a

in 1985. He served his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

at St Mary's Church,

Caldicot, Monmouthshire Caldicot () is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. The town is located between Chepstow and the city of Newport, Wales, Newport. The site adjoins the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, Caldicot Levels, on the nor ...

, in the

Diocese of Monmouth The Diocese of Monmouth is a diocese of the Church in Wales. Despite the name, its cathedral is located not in Monmouth but in Newport — Newport Cathedral (Welsh: ''Cadeirlan Casnewydd''), commonly known as St Woolos Cathedral. Reasons for no ...

. Next, he was curate-in-charge and then

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Cwmtillery Cwmtillery (; ) (population 2011. 4800) is a ward of Abertillery. Located within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, it is part of the administrative area of the county borough of Blaen ...

and Six Bells between 1986 and 1991. He then moved to

Risca Risca () is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough and within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. It is split into two Community (Wales), communities; Risca East an ...

, where he was vicar of St Mary's Church from 1991 to 1998. From 1998 to 2008, he was vicar of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. He was additionally warden of

ordinands Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

from 2001 to 2006, and made an

honorary canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

of St Woolos' Cathedral, Newport in 2003. He served as Archdeacon of Monmouth from 2008 to 2013.

Episcopal ministry

He was elected

on 23 July 2013. Having accepted the position, he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 21 September at

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...

and enthroned at

Newport Cathedral Newport Cathedral (), also known as St Gwynllyw's or St Woolos' Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth within the Church in Wales, and the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. Its official title is Newport Cathedral Church of St Woo ...

on 18 October. He was the 10th Bishop of Monmouth. At the time of his election, Pain stated that he was in favour of the ordination of women as bishops. In January 2019, the ''

South Wales Argus The ''South Wales Argus'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Newport, South Wales. ''The Argus'' is distributed in Newport, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen. History The paper was founded as the ''South Wales Argu ...

'' revealed that Pain had not performed any of his episcopal duties since July 2018. He was undergoing a "formal process of mediation": this was due to a "personality clash between the bishop and some of his staff", rather than relating to a serious or criminal matter. Pain retired on 30 April 2019, due to ill health.

Roman Catholic Church

On 12 June 2023, it was announced that he would be received into the

through the

. This took place during a service at the Church of St Basil and St Gwladys, Rogerstone, on 2 July 2023. He is the first Welsh Anglican bishop to be received into the Ordinariate since its creation in 2011. Pain was ordained in the Ordinariate by Bishop

David Waller David Waller (27 November 1920 – 23 January 1997) was an English actor best known for his role as Inspector Jowett in the British television series ''Cribb''. He also appeared as Stanley Baldwin in ITV's '' Edward & Mrs Simpson'' (1978), and ...

as a Catholic deacon on 2 July and as a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

on 20 July 2024. He serves in the South East Wales Pastoral Area based at the Church of St Basil and St Gwladys,

Rogerstone Rogerstone (, meaning "Black house") is a large village and community (parish) in Newport, Wales. The area is governed by Newport City Council. The village falls within the ancient parish of Bassaleg and historic county of Monmouthshire. ...

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

Personal life

Pain is married. He and his wife have had three children together, one of whom died in 2008 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

References

External links

Bishop Richard's Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pain, Richard Edward 1956 births Alumni of the University of Bristol Bishops of Monmouth Living people Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of St Michael's College, Llandaff Archdeacons of Monmouth Anglican bishop converts to Roman Catholicism 20th-century British Anglican priests 21st-century Roman Catholic priests Welsh Roman Catholic priests Welsh Roman Catholics People of the personal ordinariates