Canon William Agley, a qualified solicitor and priest, has been appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The decision was made last Tuesday during a meeting of the Bishops of England and Wales. Canon Agley will serve in the role for five years.

The 57-year-old, who has been serving in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, will step down from his diocesan duties to take up the new position.

Speaking about his appointment, he said: “I am deeply honoured to be asked to take on this role and humbled by the trust the Bishops of England and Wales have placed in me.

“I will miss the clergy and people of Hexham and Newcastle very much, especially my parish, where it has been a joy to minister.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the UK’s most senior Catholic bishop, said: “I look forward to welcoming Canon Agley to his new role. He brings great ability and experience to the service of the Church in this important ministry. I thank him for his willingness to accept this appointment.”

Canon Agley was born in Kent and qualified as a solicitor in the early 1990s. He changed career six years later and was ordained a priest in 1998. He has served as a parish priest and chaplain in various south London schools and hospitals before moving to Rome to study for a Licence in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He has also worked for the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland and spent five years in Rome at the Dicastery for the Clergy.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops comprising archbishops, bishops and auxiliary bishops of the 22 Catholic dioceses of England and Wales.

The Conference meets twice a year and, in recent years, has made statements on political issues such as opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill and calls to abolish the two-child benefit cap.