Cathedral Requiem for The Rt Revd Monsignor Graham Leonard
14th January 2010
Cathedral Requiem for The Rt Revd Monsignor Graham Leonard
There will be a Requiem in Truro Cathedral at 5.30pm on Monday 22 February in memory of The Rt Revd Monsignor Graham Leonard, whose death was announced last week.
Dr Graham Leonard was Bishop of Truro from 1973 - 1981. He was enthroned as 11th Bishop of Truro in September 1973, having been Area Bishop of Willesden in the Diocese of London for the previous 10 years. He came to Truro widely known for his intellectual ability, which was formidable, and his spiritual gifts. Bishop Graham saw an urgent need to continue to improve the morale of the rural clergy, whose stipends were amongst the lowest in the Church of England
Bishop Graham quickly recognised that a rural diocese such as Truro needed more than one Bishop if it was to function effectively. He revived the ancient Bishopric of St Germans, and appointed Richard Rutt, previously Bishop in Korea, as his first suffragan. The two men shared a catholic vision of the Church which they usually promoted with sensitivity and an understanding of the Cornish people and their needs at the time.
Dr Leonard was loved by his clergy to whom he was always supportive, and respected - if not always understood - by lay people who often found him distant and unapproachable. Thirty years after he left the Diocese, he is still regarded by many as being the archetypal Bishop: spiritual, decisive, and a good pastor.
His considerable gifts were recognised by the national church, where he spearheaded many of the educational debates in the House of Lords. In 1979 he was strongly tipped to succeed Dr Coggan as Archbishop of Canterbury, but in the event Dr Leonard moved from Truro in 1981 on his appointment as Bishop of London. In that role he was highly critical in the Lords of many government policies, and he was also a vigorous, and widely respected, leader of the Anglo-Catholic group in General Synod,
The Bishop left the Church of England in Cornwall in better heart than he had found it. However, relations with the Methodist Church were at a very low ebb, after the failure of the Covenant proposals which Dr Leonard was unable to commend wholeheartedly.
Few in Cornwall were surprised when, in 1993, Bishop Graham Leonard was received into the Roman Catholic Church. His had been a long journey of faith, conducted with integrity, and those who had known, loved or respected him as an Anglican Bishop, continued to wish him well, and value his contribution to the whole Church of God.
On learning of Dr Leonard's death, the present Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, said: "Bishop Leonard is still remembered by many in Cornwall with respect and affection. He was clearly a Bishop with very definite views about the Church, and many parishes today have reason to be grateful for what he did to improve the lot of clergy, and for his substantial contribution to Church Schools. I am sure that we would all wish to remember Priscilla and his family in our prayers."
The Times Obituary