The resignation of Bishop Ralph Heskett as Bishop of Hallam on grounds of ill health has prompted an interim appointment by Pope Leo XIV, with Bishop Marcus Stock now overseeing a growing cluster of northern dioceses at a moment of potential structural change in the Church in England.
The Vatican confirmed that Bishop Stock, already Bishop of Leeds and Apostolic Administrator of Middlesbrough, has been appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hallam following Bishop Heskett’s resignation at the age of 73. The move places three diocesan territories under his temporary leadership, an arrangement that has drawn attention to wider questions about diocesan reorganisation.
