Fr Alan is named as new St John’s Cathedral Dean

Fr Alan Hodgson has been appointed as the new Cathedral Dean and Parish Priest of St John the Baptist and Holy Apostles in Norwich by Bishop Alan Hopes.

Fr Alan was ordained in the Cathedral in July 2019. He has served in the parishes of St Mary, Ipswich, and Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge and will begin his time as Dean at the start of September.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Fr Alan is a former aircraft fitter and Operations Manager at Gatwick Airport. One evening, he was involved in a traumatic event on the way home from work which led him to really take stock of his life and begin a search to fill the gap, he says.

“I found solace in front of the Blessed Sacrament and it was there that I realised that the call to priesthood, which I had buried for so long, was still there and yelling to get out,” said Fr Alan, who trained at the Beda College in Rome.

Canon David Paul will be retiring later this year, and so Fr Alan will succeed him. Canon Paul arrived in the Cathedral in 2014, and has served the parish community for eight years.

Assistant priest Fr Michael Smith will be remaining with the Cathedral while Fr Simon Davies will also be leaving the parish this summer.

Pictured above is Fr Alan Hodgson being ordained as a priest by Bishop Alan at St John’s Cathedral in 2019.

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