A new Bishop of Croydon has been announced.

The Right Rev Nick Baines, who has been appointed the 10th Bishop of Bradford, is to be replaced by the Rev Jonathan Clark, who will take an official tour of his Episcopal Area in May.

Priest in Charge of St John’s Brownswood Park from 2004, Rev Clark was ordained in Bristol and has also served as Deacon in the Diocese of Carlisle.

He was Rector General of the Society of Catholic Priests between 2005 and 2008 and is currently Chair of Affirming Catholicism, UK.

He is married to Alison Clark, who is a senior lecturer at the Open University and they have two grown up children.

He said: “I am very glad to be offered the opportunity to serve as Bishop of Croydon and look forward to returning to South London where I grew up. “The Croydon Episcopal Area includes urban, rural and suburban communities, areas of poverty and of prosperity and people of many different ethnicities and faiths. “I am excited to be working within such a diverse environment and playing my part in helping to build greater community cohesion.

“I am really looking forward to getting to know the parishes and communities in the Area and working with them in their mission and ministry.”

The Revd Jonathan Clark will be consecrated in Southwark Cathedral on 21 March 2012.