The parishes of St Benet in Beccles and St Edmund in Bungay, including the church of St Thomas More at Harleston, formally transferred from the Benedictines of Downside Abbey with effect from January 1, 2024.
Bishop Peter said: “Parishioners will undoubtedly feel that this brings a necessary close to a long drawn-out process, and ends the discomfort of uncertainty that many will have experienced.
“I should express my thanks to the monks of Downside for their long stewardship of the faith in Bungay and Beccles, and my grateful recognition of the many ties that parishioners will feel to the important part of England’s Catholic heritage which that represents.
“At the same time, it is my hope and prayer that we will now be able to begin, with this new year, a new chapter for the parish communities and their schools as an integral part of the Diocesan family, with all the support that can bring in the future.
“With my blessing as we prepare together for the next phase of the Great Mission.”
Pictured above is St Benet’s Minister in Beccles.