It was smiles all round at Sacred Heart Club in Aston as parishioners gathered together to see their parish priest appointed a Bishop.

Joining via the live stream from St Chad’s Cathedral, those present at the social club were part of a Mass of Ordination which saw not one, but two men appointed as Auxiliary Bishops for the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Up until yesterday, Tuesday, Mgr Timothy was the Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral and parish priest of Sacred Heart and St Margaret Mary, Aston.

He is now Bishop, along with Canon Richard Walker (Vicar General), following their Episcopal Ordination.

To celebrate Bishop Timothy’s appointment his parishioners of both St Chad’s and Sacred Heart gathered together to watch via the live stream.

They participated in the Mass, listening intently to the Homily given by Archbishop Bernard Longley and following proceedings via the commemorative Mass booklet.

Those gathered waved to each other across the dance floor during the Sign of Peace and were able to receive Holy Communion if they wished.

It was wonderful to be a part of this community’s celebration.

Margaret Delaney, Kathleen Cleaver and Angela McCarthy had arrived in plenty of time to secure good seats. The friends are regulars at the ‘tea and chat’ club, which Bishop Timothy also attends when he can.

Margaret, a choir member at Sacred Heart, said: “He has been very good whilst he’s been here.”

Kathleen, also a choir member and once a pupil at St Chad’s Primary School, said: “We are here to support Mgr Tim. We wish him well.”

And Angela, a parishioner at St Chad’s and the auntie of Canon Gerry Breen, who passed away in 2019, added: “He loves his parish.”

Poonam Mistry and Sharon Craig were also very happy for Bishop Timothy.

Poonam, a teaching assistant at St Chad’s Primary School until recently, said: “He has been a real friend. This is fully deserved. He is very generous. The children love him."

Sharon, Pastoral Lead at Sacred Heart, said Bishop Timothy had been a great support following the death of her husband. “For me, he is very kind and understanding. An amazing pastoral priest. He made things simple for the children.”

Elizabeth Tucker and Amanda Wheller are mother and daughter, and their family has been connected to both St Chad’s and Sacred Heart for many generations.

“We love these things, we love Mgr Tim,” said Elizabeth. “He has supported us during family bereavements and has been very good to my family.

“We want to support him, he is going up another step in life.”

Amanda added: “He married me and my husband and baptised our son. So a real family affair.”

John and Yvonne Bridger from Lichfield regularly attend St Chad’s.

“It is such an epic, huge day for him,” said Yvonne. “We wouldn’t have missed it for the world. We wanted to be here with other people, be part of the community.”

And parishioners Michael and William both agreed - ‘he will be missed here, a very popular priest’.

Story and photo gallery of the Bishops Ordinations