When they met on Tuesday 16 September, the Bishops of England and Wales appointed Canon William Agley to serve as General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales for a period of five years.
A qualified solicitor and priest of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, Canon Agley served as an official of what is now the Dicastery for the Clergy in Rome from 2012 to 2017.
On learning of his appointment, Canon Agley 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, but am also grateful for the opportunity to serve the Church in this new way. I look forward to working closely with the Bishops and the staff of the Bishops’ Conference.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, 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.
“I also thank Bishop Stephen Wright for releasing him from his diocesan duties in Hexham and Newcastle.
“I thank Mr Greg Pope for serving as General Secretary over the past year. He will now return to his role as Executive Director of the General Secretariat.”
Canon William Agley was born in Gravesend, Kent, on 1 June 1968. He qualified as a solicitor in 1992 having attended The College of Law in York and prior to that the University of the West of England.
A change of vocation saw him study for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary, Wonersh, where he gained a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology B.Th (Hons). He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark by Archbishop Michael Bowen on 17 July 1998.
Fr Agley served the Archdiocese for 14 years, working as a parish priest and a chaplain to various South London schools and hospitals.
He spent four years as an assistant priest at St Andrew’s, Thornton Heath, before moving to Rome to study for a Licence in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
In 2006 he returned to the Archdiocese, where he served as parish priest of St Joseph’s in St Mary Cray, which became Our Lady of the Crays following its merger with the neighbouring parish of Ss Peter and Paul in St Paul’s Cray. He stayed there until 2012. This period coincided with his time working for the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland as Secretary of its Research Sub Committee.
Fr Agley also held the following posts for the Archdiocese of Southwark: Judicial Vicar 2009-2012, Presiding Judge 2007-2009, Associate Judge, 2000-2002, Defender of the Bond, 1998-1999, Auditor 1997-1998.
He was a member of the diocesan Ongoing Formation Committee from 1999-2002 and 2006-2010. He tutored students for the Permanent Diaconate from 2000-2002 and 2010-2012.
Fr Agley then spent five years in Rome, from 2012 to 2017, having been appointed an official of what is now the Dicastery for the Clergy. During this time, he was also an External Spiritual Director at the Venerable English College and at weekends supplied at the parish of Sta. Maria di Costantinopoli in Benevento.
Returning to England in 2017, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, serving as parish priest for the following parishes: St. Charles Borromeo, Gosforth and Sacred Heart, North Gosforth (2017-2022), and St Bede’s, South Shields, and SS Peter and Paul, Tyne Dock (2022 to present). Again, he took up chaplaincy posts to local schools and hospitals.
Other diocesan appointments include Diocesan Chancellor, Member of Chapter of Canons and College of Consultors, Member of Diocesan Safeguarding Committee, Lecturer of Canon Law for students for the Permanent Diaconate and Ecclesiastical Judge at First Instance for the Diocesan Tribunal.
In 2023, he was appointed National Tribunal Promotor of Justice.
Canon Agley is fluent in English and Italian, with working competency in French, German and Latin. He also has basic Spanish, Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek.
He was appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on 16 September 2025 for a term of five years.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishops and Personal Ordinaries in the two member countries. The membership of the Conference comprises the Archbishops, Bishops and Auxiliary Bishops of the 22 Catholic Dioceses of England and Wales.
The other members are: The Bishop of the Forces (Military Ordinariate), the Apostolic Eparch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Great Britain, the Apostolic Eparch for Syro-Malabar Catholics in Great Britain, and the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
The emeritus bishops of England and Wales are members of the Conference without deliberative vote. The Bishop of Gibraltar and the Apostolic Prefect of the Falkland Islands are invited observers to the Conference meetings.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has six departments: Catholic Education and Formation, Christian Life and Worship, Evangelisation and Discipleship, Dialogue and Unity, International Affairs and Social Justice. It also has six Directorates: Mission, Communications, Policy and Research, Partnerships and Public Affairs, Finance and General Administration.
The bishops meet in Plenary Assembly twice a year (Spring and Autumn) and the General Council (Standing Committee) of the Conference meets quarterly.
