4th February 2008
Presentation of Bishop Edwin Regan as Fellow of St Mary’s University College, Twickenham
Bishop Edwin Regan and Bishop George Stack
Bishop Edwin in is the best sense of the word, a true educationalist. In his newest national role to do with education he shows a great concern for those being educated and those who teach them. He always makes it very clear that education is not an end in itself but a journey and that simply “telling people what to do” is not education but something quite different.
Bishop Edwin has enjoyed plenty of opportunities to influence Catholic education nationally. He has been President of the National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisers (NBRIA) from 1995 to 2007; a role of very great importance and one in which he deftly steered the reflections, discussions and evaluations of the many colleagues around the country who are responsible for religious education in their dioceses, the Diocesan Directors of Religious Education. Bishop Edwin has been the link Bishop with the Catholic Association for Teachers, Schools and Colleges (CATSC) from 1995 to 2007. In this role he was a sympathetic ear to the needs and aspirations of those who teach and lead Catholic schools and he provided a valuable and sympathetic conduit from them to the wider Bishops’ Conference and to the Catholic Education Service. Bishop Edwin remains the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the National Project, Living and Sharing our Faith. This project has undertaken much ground breaking work to ensure that there are appropriate resources for the teachings of religious education whether in schools or for the continued formation of adults. It has provided a much appreciated service across England and Wales.
Since 2005, Bishop Edwin has been on the Management Committee of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales and is also a Trustee of the CES.
Perhaps, surprisingly for some to hear, Bishop Edwin did not have a Catholic secondary education but as a Welshman he was brought up in Port Talbot and attended Port Talbot County Grammar School. At that time there was no alternative Catholic secondary provision. From there he entered St John’s Seminary in Waterford. So like the many who have benefited directly and indirectly from the work of St Mary’s University College, Bishop Edwin can also claim some Irish roots both from his grandparents and his education.
In conclusion, Bishop Edwin is someone who has made an enormous difference to the Catholic educational landscape in both England and Wales. He is greatly admired and respected for his work and held in great affection by all who know and work with him.
A dw i’n cyflwyno fe i chi, fy arglwydd, yu un sy’n deilwng i dderbyn cymdeithas anrhydeddus o Goleg Prifysgol Santes Fair.
..... and I present him to you, My Lord, as eminently worthy of an honorary fellowship of St Mary’s university College.
Oona Stannard
Chief Executive and Director
| 
