A priest from Waterloo with a long family history at St George’s Cathedral has now been appointed as it’s newest Dean.
St George’s Cathedral – the most important Catholic church in south London, Kent and north Sussex – has been without a Dean for a year, after Canon Richard Hearn died last October.
St George’s Cathedral Dean Canon Richard Hearn dies ‘following short illness’
On Tuesday, Fr Michael Branch was formerly appointed as the Cathedral’s new Dean, after starting his role back in September.
Born in Waterloo, on Westminster Bridge Road, Michael says this Cathedral has been central to his family for generations. “My grandparents got married here in 1936, and my parents in 1963,” Michael told the News. All of my cousins and siblings were baptised here as well.”
“So I feel as if I’ve come full circle. Coming here now felt like I was coming home”, he said.
He said the area has gone through many changes, but he hopes to reignite the “close-knit community” he remembers. “When we were living here it was a lot different – people weren’t well off, they were struggling. But it was a very close-knit community.”
The original building was bombed in 1941 and rebuilt in 1953. The new building was blessed and opened by Bishop Cyril Cowderoy, who went on to become the first Archbishop of the new Archdiocese of Southwark.
Michael came from a family of printers, who worked at Fleet Street on the newspapers – but he said it wasn’t for him.
“I decided from a very young age, I wanted to do something different with my life,” he explains. “First and foremost I wanted to be a priest. Then I thought, if I can’t be a priest, I’ll be a politician. I even considered a career in acting.
“But being a priest is really a vocation. It’s not a job, it’s a way of life for me.”
In May, he celebrated 25 years of being a priest. Now, as Dean of what’s known as the ‘Mother Church’ of Southwark, he said his focus will be on helping those in need.
“The church by its nature is missionary. I really want to make people’s lives better, especially those who are on the margins of society,” he said.
Fr Michael said he’s currently setting up a project with Oasis – a Southwark-based charity – and the Waterloo Foodbank. “The cathedral is going to become a weekly referral centre so that people can not only pick up food; they can come for a chat, a tea and coffee and feel a sense of community,” he told the News.
“I want us to be outward-looking, to connect not only with other churches, but with other faiths as well.”
He added that a local muslim leader who is also very involved with Oasis, sent a representative from the mosque to Fr Michael’s induction.
“We’ve got to get beyond labels. I’m not just here for Catholics, I want to positively impact as many people’s lives regardless of religion.”