The Rt. Rev. John Sentamu, Bishop of Birmingham (England), has been named Archbishop of York, the No. 2 position in the Church of England. The appointment was announced Friday by the prime minister.

Bishop Sentamu, 56, a native of Uganda, has been bishop in Birmingham since 2002. Previously, he was Bishop of Stepney, a suffragan position in the Diocese of London, and he held several parish positions in the Church of England.

The new archbishop was educated in Uganda, earning a law degree from Makerere University, Kampala, and was an advocate for the High Court of Uganda. He moved to England in 1974 and graduated from Selwyn College and from Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He was ordained priest in 1979.

“It is imperative that the Church regains her vision and confidence in mission, developing ways that will enable the Church of England to reconnect imaginatively with England,” he said.

“It is important that the Church of England’s voice is heard locally, nationally, and internationally, standing up for justice, bringing good news to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, setting at liberty those who are oppressed, and proclaiming the death of Christ and his resurrection until he comes again. What an exciting prospect.”

Bishop Sentamu and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of two grown children.

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