My vision for the Diocese

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in his World Mission Day Message for 2022, (Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2022 | Francis (vatican.va) Pope Francis reminded us that ‘every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ’ and he went on to share with us his dream of ‘a completely missionary Church.’

My vision for the Diocese of Nottingham is that we make the Holy Father’s dream a living reality by responding to the Christian call to be witnesses to Christ’s love and to share that love with the world.I believe that the spiritual foundation for the renewal of our diocese is three-fold; meaning that it depends on Encounter, Discipleship and Missionary Discipleship.What is Encounter? Encounter is when we personally meet Christ and grow in our personal relationship with him. It is through this relationship that we become his disciples and choose to accept his invitation by following him more closely and serving him in our lives, every day.

Finally, through the gift of Discipleship, we can grow to embrace Missionary Discipleship; when we become faith-filled, joyful and outward-looking Christians. As missionary disciples, we will have the courage and confidence to speak with humility to others about how Christ has changed our lives and to bear witness to his love, by serving those who are most in need.I hope and pray that we will continue to be renewed in this way and that it is here, in the Diocese of Nottingham, where the world will truly come to know the joy of the Gospel.

Pastoral Letters

Biography

30th April 1954

Born in Birmingham, the eldest son of Patrick and Bridget McKinney, originally from Ireland; Bishop Patrick’s family moved to Buncrana, in Co Donegal, Ireland, when he was still very young, before returning eventually to Birmingham.

29th July 1978

Ordained to the priesthood, in St Mary’s Church, Buncrana, where his family lives. After his ordination, Bishop Patrick was appointed assistant priest in the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, Yardley Wood, Birmingham, and chaplain to St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Kings Norton, Birmingham.

1982 - 1984 

Studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, where he gained a Licence in Sacred Theology.

1984 - 1989

Returned to the Archdiocese of Birmingham, teaching fundamental theology in St Mary’s College, Oscott.

1989 - 1998

Appointed Rector of St Mary’s College, during which period he was also a lecturer in ecclesiology, the theology of the Church. He was made a Prelate of Honour in 1990 and a member of the Metropolitan Chapter of St Chad in 1992.

1998 - 2015

Mgr McKinney left Oscott in 1998, becoming parish priest of St John, Great Haywood, and Episcopal Vicar for the north of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. He left the parish in 2001, remaining as Episcopal Vicar until 2006, when he was appointed parish priest of Our Lady and All Saints, Stourbridge, and Dean of the Dudley Deanery. He has also served for a time as Chair of the Birmingham Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission.

2015

Mgr McKinney was appointed tenth Bishop of Nottingham by Pope Francis on 14 May 2015, and was ordained to the episcopate by Cardinal Vincent Nichols in St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham on Friday 3 July 2015.

He has taken as his motto 'Seek the Face of Christ'.

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