Fr Ben Eadon named Priest Administrator at Norfolk shrine

Father Ben Eadon is currently the Vicar of St Bartholomew’s and St Paul’s, in Brighton, and will succeed Father Kevin Smith in the autumn.

Fr Ben was ordained to a curacy in Sunderland and served as Vicar of St Symphorian’s Durrington in Worthing before moving to Brighton.

He said: “Walsingham is a place which I have loved for many years and, like so many Christians, call home, knowing it to be a place in which Our Lady draws us to her son.

"After every pilgrimage, I return with my faith deepened and nourished, rejoicing in the maternal care of Our Lady of Walsingham.

“I pray that, as I prepare to make an extended pilgrimage as Priest Administrator, all of us who minister at the Shrine may continue to make it a place where people recognise the joy and beauty of our faith."

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, praised Fr Ben's dedication, while the Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Revd Martin Warner, highlighted his "pastoral heart, sense of humour, gracious hospitality and spiritual seriousness".