Roman Catholic Bishopric Of The Forces
"Defende nos in Proelio"
Chancellor
Father Stephen Sharkey CF (RC)
Father Stephen was born in Glasgow. He has twin sisters who between them have 10 children. After working as a Telecommunications Engineer for eight years predominantly with GEC he entered the National Seminary for Scotland, Scotus College in 1993 where he studied for a Diploma in Philosophy (DipPh) and a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) in preparation for Ordination as a Roman Catholic Priest for the Diocese of Galloway on 25th June 1999.
Stephen was assistant Priest in Dumfries before becoming Parish Priest of the Parishes of Lockerbie and Moffat. He was a Scottish Prison Service Chaplain serving in both mainstream prisons and a Young Offenders Institute, he was also a Co-Ordinating Hospital Chaplain. Laterally he was Parish Priest in Beith and Dalry, North Ayrshire.
Stephen started his military involvement as a Territorial Army Soldier from 1986 till 1991 and became a Chaplain to West Lowland Army Cadet Force where he served for seven years. Stephen joined the Royal Army Chaplains Department as a Regular Chaplain on 15th September 2008. He is currently Chaplain at Churchill Lines based in St Athan in Wales
He was previously Senior Chaplain Army Training Centre Pirbright, the largest Phase One training establishment in the British Army (Basic Training Center). Assistant Chaplain in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Chaplain to 3rd Battalion, Royal Horse Artillery and 2 Medical Regiment based in Hohne, Germany where he deployed on Op Herrick 19 with 7th Armoured Brigade from September 2013 through until April 2014. Previous to his appointment in British Forces Germany he was Chaplain to 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment in Cyprus, Episkopi Garrison Chaplain and the only Roman Catholic Chaplain in British Forces Cyprus. He also served in Cyprus with 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster Regiment and with 4 Rifles based in Bulford, Wiltshire returning from Afghanistan on 2nd October 2009 after a four month tour on Op Herrick 10 where he was in Nad Ali, Helmand Provence with 4 Rifles as part of the Election Surge Force.
Stephen’s hobbies include cycling, he has cycled from Glasgow to Santiago De Compostela and Glasgow to Warsaw for various Charities and from his base in Germany to Newcastle as his Regiment rebased from Germany to UK. Stephen has also has moved from a pedal cycle to owning a motorcycle, passing his test in Cyprus. He enjoys Skiing and trying to keep fit.
Principal Chaplain (Army).
Co-ordinator for Evangelisation
Rev Paschal Hanrahan CF
On promotion to CF3 he served as Senior Chaplain 12th Mechanised Brigade, 11th Regiment Royal School of Signals and then completed the Intermediate Command Staff Course at the Defence Academy, Shrivenham.
Fr Paschal was awarded a Masters in Theologhy in Chaplaincy Studies from Cardiff University.
On promotion to CF2 he has served with 4th Infantry Brigade and HQ North East, As Staff Chaplain at Army Headquarters in Andover and most recently as Deputy Assistant Chaplain General and Senior Chaplain 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East.
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Fr Paschal is a native of Ennis, Co Clare, Ireland. After studies at St Patrick’s College Maynooth he was ordained to the priesthood in May 1998 for the Diocese of Killaloe.
He was commissioned into the Royal Army Chaplain’s Department in Sep 2005 and on commission served as unit Chaplain with the Queen’s Royal Lancers, the First Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, 7th and 16th Signal Regiments, Third Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and the Irish Guards.
During this time he deployed on Operations in Iraq (Op TELIC IX and XIII) and in Afghanistan on Op HERRICK 17b and 18a.
Vicar General
Revd Fr Nicholas Gosnell SRN BTh(Hons) MA(Ed) MA(CL)
Born in south London in 1958, Nick joined the Royal Navy in May 1977 and, in addition to Naval Medical Staff work, trained as a State Registered Nurse. After specialising in Intensive Care and service in the South Atlantic, he left in September 1983 to take up a research post at the London Hospital Medical College while he studied with the Open University and the Aston Training Scheme.
From 1985 to 1988 he attended Chichester Theological College and read for the BTh(Hons) through Southampton University. Ordained deacon in Gloucester Cathedral in 1988 he was appointed to a curacy at Prestbury, Cheltenham and was ordained priest in 1989. During this time he took a commission as an Army Cadet Force Chaplain. From 1991 to 1994 he served as priest-in-charge at Ss Michael & George, Fullwell, Teddington while reading for an MA in Education and Theology at King's College, London. He also took a Territorial Army Commission at this time.
In 1994 he was appointed Chaplain and Head of Divinity at St John's School, Leatherhead. In 1997 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church and ordained for the Archdiocese of Westminster by Cardinal Basil Hume in May 1998. He was immediately sent to serve in the Bishopric of the Forces and after ministering at a new entry Training Establishment he was sent to Kosovo in November 1999 for six months as the Force RC Chaplain on OP AGRICOLA.
Returning to his Unit he was posted to 101 Logistic Brigade in January 2001 and seconded for duty to 16 Air Assault
Brigade in January 2003 for the war phase of OP TELIC in Iraq, where he served with 16 Close Support Medical
Regiment. Throughout this time he was on the staff of the Cathedral of the Bishop of the Forces, being made the
Dean in September 2003.
In August 2004 he was posted to Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow as Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire,
Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, with additional responsibility for a number of minor units. Immediately following this
he served with the 1 st Battalion Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters and as Senior Chaplain (RC) London District.
On posting to the 1 st Battalion Irish Guards in 2007 he served as Dean of the Military Cathedral in Aldershot once
again and deployed on OP TELIC 10 in Iraq with the Unit. In 2010 he was posted to the Royal Horse Artillery in
Tidworth where he trained for deployment to Afghanistan as support to 1 st Mechanised Brigade. Following his
appointment as Senior Chaplain to that Brigade in 2011 he was posted to the Army Training Centre Pirbright where he
served as Senior Chaplain until his final posting to the 1 st Battalion Grenadier Guards in 2013. During this time he also
studied for a Masters Degree in Canon Law through Heythrop College.
Following retirement from the Regular Army at the end of 2015 he was placed on the Reserve List and appointed as
Dean of St Michael and St George, the Cathedral Church of the Bishop of the Forces and with the appointment of
Bishop Paul Mason as Bishop-in-Ordinary to HM Forces in September 2018 he was made Vicar General of the
Bishopric. Additional duties include being Vice-Chancellor of the Bishopric, Diocesan Master of Ceremonies, Editor of
the Ordo and Coordinator for the UK Contingent of the annual International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes.
Married since 1981 to Alison, whom he met when they were in the VIth Form studying their A Levels together, he has
two sons, Matthew 34 years old (lawyer who is currently serving as a commissioned officer in the Army Legal Service,
and married to Thorne) and Jonathan 32 years old (a personal trainer, fitness instructor and manager of the Village
Gym, who is married to Sable with a their daughter Reiva, who is two years old).