Anglican Parish in Costa Brava receives encouragement from Bishop of Girona

Bishop David, Bishop Francesc, the Revd Anne Jenkins, Mr John Copestake

The Diocese of Girona in which our new Anglican Parish of Costa Brava is situated takes its ecumenical vocation most seriously. The Bishop of Girona, Mons. Francesc Pardo i Artigas, has an active ecumenical officer, Father Joan Busquets, who states clearly that the divisions among Christians must be overcome as they are 1) contrary to the will of the Lord, 2) a scandal to the world, and 3) cause of difficulty in our work of evangelization in these secular times.

In this ecumenical spirit, on 27 October Bishop Francesc hosted a fruitful meeting with our new priest-in-charge of Costa Brava, the Revd Anne Jenkins, the parish Reader Mr John Copestake, Fr Joan and myself,  at his Episcopal Residence. John has built very fruitful ecumenical inks in Costa Brava and the Bishop was keen to meet our priest Anne who is the first resident Anglican priest in the area.

It was a very warm and engaging meeting. Bishop Francesc drew our attention to the fact that Catalunya is the most secular region of Spain, and Girona is the most secular area in Catalunya. “We need to support each other in our work and witness,” he said.

At present we have one congregation within the Anglican parish which uses the ancient Church of St Stephen in the village of Madremanya. The visit with Bishop Francesc gave me a chance to thank him for the continued use of the Church. He turned to Anne and said we can count on the hospitality of the Roman Catholic diocese as our work grows and extends in Costa Brava. 

St Stephen's Church in Madremanya