Father Victor Darlington and Father Marcus Holden
Following the retirement of Bishop Patrick Lynch in December 2020, Archbishop John Wilson appointed Fr Victor Darlington and Fr Marcus Holden to act as presiding Deans for the South-East Pastoral Area of the Diocese in which they reside.
This arrangement is for the period until the appointment of a new Auxiliary Bishop.
Father Victor Darlington
Victor Darlington was born in Ibadan, Nigeria on 1st April 1963. He is the third of six children. He attended St. Benedict’s Primary School, and St. John Bosco’s College Ubiaja, Edo State, Nigeria.
He had his Seminary formation at SS. Peter and Paul Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan and he was ordained a Priest on September 8th, 1990.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Religions Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology from the Urban University in Rome. He further obtained a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Biblicum in Rome, and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Angelicum in Rome.
He joined the Archdiocese of Southwark in 2006 and was appointed the Assistant Parish Priest to the English Martyrs Church in Strood until 2011, when he was appointed Parish Priest to Sacred Heart Church Camberwell.
He has been a part-time lecturer at St. John’s Seminary Wonersh since 2008 and, he also lectures at the Diaconate Formation Programme for England and Wales.
Fr Victor is the Episcopal Vicar of the Commission for Promoting Racial and Cultural Inclusion of the Archdiocese. He is also the Dean of Camberwell Deanery. He and Fr Marcus Holden are presently overseeing the Southeast Pastoral Area of the Archdiocese which comprises the Deaneries of Bexley, Bromley, Camberwell, Greenwich, Lambeth, and Lewisham.
Father Victor Darlington
Sacred Heart Church Camberwell
2 Knatchbull Road
London
SE5 9QS
Tel: 020 7274 1908
Email: victordarlington@rcaos.org.uk
Father Marcus Holden
Fr Marcus was born in Chorley, Lancashire, but also spent ten years of childhood in Wales. He read Theology at Oxford University, before heading to Rome in 1999 (Venerable English College and the Pontifical Gregorian University) for preparation and studies for the priesthood. His home base at that time was New Malden and he was ordained there in the parish of St Joseph on 10 September 2005.
He served as assistant priest in Balham (2005-2008) and Tunbridge Wells (2008-2010) and as Parish Priest Ramsgate (2010-2018) and is presently parish priest at Clapham Park and Dean of Lambeth.
Fr Marcus was appointed by Archbishop John Wilson to be Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation and Catechesis in February 2020. He is the co-founder of the Evangelium Project and also works with the Maryvale Institute and the Catholic Truth Society.
Alongside Fr Victor Darlington, he shares currently and provisionally (until a new auxiliary bishop is appointed) a responsibility for the South-East pastoral area of the Diocese.
St Bede’s Catholic Church
58 Thornton Rd
London
SW12 0LF
Tel: 020 8674 3704 (option 2)
Email: marcusholden@rcaos.org.uk
The South East Area of Southwark comprises the deaneries of
- Bexley
- Bromley,
- Camberwell,
- Greenwich
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
