Stephen Wright (bishop)

Stephen James Lawrence Wright is a British Roman Catholic prelate. Since 2023, he has served as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.

Biography

Wright was born on 9 October 1970 in Stafford in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He was ordained a priest on 9 September 2000 for the same Archdiocese. After graduating in Law and qualifying to practice as a lawyer, he completed his ecclesiastical studies at seminary of St Mary's College, Oscott in Birmingham and at the Venerable English College in Rome. He obtained a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Corpus Christi Parish in Stechford, Birmingham ; pastor of Saint Joseph's in Banbury ; parish priest of Saint Mary and Modwen in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire ; episcopal vicar for religious ; and from 2019, Vicar general.
On 18 March 2020 he was appointed titular bishop of "Ramsbiria" and auxiliary in Birmingham, receiving episcopal consecration on the following 9 October.
On 14 June 2023 he was appointed by Pope Francis as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, succeeding Robert Byrne. He was installed at St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle on 19 July 2023.