The new Priest-in-Charge of the Parish Church of The Ascension, Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough, was licensed by the Bishop of Whitby on Monday 25th March 2019.

The Reverend Emmanuel Nazir’s Licensing took place on the day the Church celebrates the Annunciation – the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of the forthcoming birth of Jesus Christ.

Father Emmanuel Nazir has served as an assistant parish priest in Milton, Hampshire in the Diocese of Portsmouth since 2016, and he is a priest associate of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

He succeeds the Reverend Canon David Hodgson, who died in office in October 2016 and was a much loved larger-than-life character who is greatly missed by parishioners and by colleagues across the Diocese of York.

Father Emmanuel trained for ordination in the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge, after he was received into the Church of England and spent two years working in the Anglican Chaplaincy in Italy.

Previously he had studied at the Gregorian University in Rome and for ten years he was a Roman Catholic parish priest in Pakistan. For four years he was a college professor as well as having extensive experience of writing and broadcasting.

Father Emmanuel is married to Fauzia; they enjoy walking, gardening and making people welcome.

Churchwarden Carol Jenkins said, “The Ascension has been in vacancy for over two years and it has been a very difficult and stressful time. I am now looking forward to supporting Father Emmanuel and Fauzia and getting to know them as we go on our Spiritual journey together.”

The Bishop of Whitby, the Right Reverend Paul Ferguson, said, “Father Emmanuel comes with many gifts and a real eagerness to lead this parish and build it up, sharing God’s love with the thousands of people who live and work here. As a Christian in Pakistan he has had to be brave and to stand up for his faith. We will all have much to learn from him.”

The Church of The Ascension serves the three housing estates of Park End, Berwick Hills and Pallister Park in Middlesbrough, which were established in the post war years of the 1950s. The parish covers an area of four square miles and has a population of about 17,000 people.

www.churchofascension.co.uk