Monday, February 13, 2012

Bishop Wright renews tradition at Maitland residence

Maitland will regain its role as home of the bishop with the head of the Hunter region’s Catholic diocese moving to the city.

Bishop Bill Wright has decided to take up residency at the Bishop’s House in Free Church Street, Maitland, re-establishing the city’s long-standing tradition in the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese.

He will be the first bishop to live in the house since Bishop Leo Clarke, who resided there until the 1990s.

“My intention to live in Maitland brings with it a number of opportunities for me as bishop,” Bishop Wright said.

“And the thought was first prompted by seeing the church next door [St John’s Chapel] with its cyclone wire fence and its crumbling tower. I thought that if the bishop moved back in we could do something about this and generate a bit of interest. It just seems sad to me that a church that represents the beginning of our story in this part of the world looks like that and I think we can do better than that somehow.”

The original residence of the bishop of Maitland was a cottage on Campbell’s Hill and was bought by Bishop James Murray in 1870.

By 1875 the existing Bishop’s House – closer to the Pro-Cathedral of St John the Baptist – had been built.

It remained the bishop’s residence until the 1990s when the cathedral was moved to Hamilton.

But Bishop Wright said he expected the move from Newcastle to Maitland to be met with mixed reactions.

“There are some people for whom this house has some very bad associations,” Bishop Wright said.

“When first considering the move to the Bishop’s House, I was not aware of its blemished past which affected individuals, families and the wider diocesan community. I have now communicated with the people I know of who may be affected by any move, to advise them of my intentions.”

The move is also fuelled by a desire to be closer to the rapidly growing Lower Hunter and its group of churches.

Bishop Wright will continue to work from offices in Newcastle.