I was born in Liverpool in 1965 and after taking a science degree in Sheffield, and a year in church work in inner-city Liverpool, I joined a Roman Catholic religious order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1987. Pre-ordination training in the Jesuits gave me opportunities to serve in parishes, to work with a variety of marginalized groups in different countries, including 2 years in Bilbao with Proyecto Hombre, to study philosophy and theology in the UK and France, and to grow in my appreciation of the central place that prayer and liturgy play in the Christian life. I was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1999 and then sent to do doctoral studies at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, during which time, I also served as a chaplain in the international English-speaking parish in Frankfurt. Following completion of my PhD, I returned to the UK to teach philosophy and theology at Heythrop College, the University of London from 2004-2018 alongside serving as an assistant priest at various parishes in South London and working as a sessional chaplain at Holloway women’s prison in North London.
I joined the Church of England in 2013, whilst working at Heythrop and served my curacy at the parish of St Mary and St Eanswythe with St Saviour in Folkestone, where I was married in 2015. Following the closure of Heythrop in 2018, I took up a new position teaching theology and organizing social and pastoral and placements for students at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, which trains women and men for ordained ministry.
I am delighted to have been chosen to serve you as the next chaplain of the Costa del Sol West and my wife Gisela, who is currently working as a counsellor in Saltaire, and I are very much looking forward to getting to know you and sharing in the life of the chaplaincy. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our move to the chaplaincy and be assured of our prayers for you.
Tony has recorded a video message for us. It can be found here: