Charles Joseph Henderson, KC*HS was born in

County Waterford, Ireland County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. Waterford City and County Council is the local authority for t ...

on 14 April 1924, where he was ordained as a priest on 6 June 1948. He was educated locally by the Christian Brothers and trained for the priesthood in St. John's College, Waterford. Based in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Henderson was appointed vicar general of the new diocese

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton (in la, Dioecesis Arundeliensis-Brichtelmestunensis) is a Latin Church Roman Catholic diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey (excluding Spelthorne, which is pa ...

, which was created out of Southwark in 1965. He was made a

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

in 1960 and a prelate to the papal household in 1965. In 1969 he was appointed as the parish priest for Our Lady Help of Christians, Blackheath. On 8 December 1972 at St George's Cathedral (Southwark), Archbishop

Cyril Cowderoy Cyril Conrad Cowderoy (5 May 1905 - 10 October 1976) was a priest for over 45 years and a bishop for over 26 years in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Born in Sidcup, Kent, on 5 May 1905, he was consecrated and ordained as paris ...

ordained him as an auxiliary bishop in Southwark and titular Bishop of Tricala. After the death of Archbishop Cowderoy in October 1976, he was put in charge of the diocese until the installation of Archbishop Michael Bowen in April 1977. In 1980 he was given responsibility for south-east London.

Ecumenism

In 1976, he was appointed to the Ecumenical Commission for England and Wales. He was a member of the English Anglican/RC Committee (ARCIC) from 1982 to 1992, and a member of the Methodist/RC Committee from 1983 to 1992. Between 1982 and 1986 he served as a Catholic consultor and observer at the British Council of Churches.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

recognised his expertise and knowledge in inter-faith dialogue by appointing him to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 1990. He was also chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Catholic to Jewish Relations from 1992 to 2001, vice-chairman of the Council for Christians and Jews for many years, and a member of the Churches' Commission for Interfaith Relations (1994–2002). In 2001 he was awarded the Interfaith Gold Medallion from the Sternberg Charitable Foundation. He was also chairman of the finance advisory committee of the UK's National Catholic Fund (1988–2000).

Resignation/Honours

On 26 January 2001,

accepted his official resignation. In 1973 he was given the Freedom of the City of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

(an honour also shared by

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist part ...

and

Anna Manahan Anna Maria Manahan (18 October 1924 – 8 March 2009) was an Irish stage, film and television actress. Manahan received two Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nominations for her performances in the 1968 production of '' Lovers'' an ...

). The same year, he was also made a Knight Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He continued to travel for many years to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

several times to visit the Pattaya Orphanage Trust (of which he was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

). He also frequently visited his native Waterford, Ireland, at least twice a year.

Quote

In 1998, he remarked: "''We have achieved in my lifetime as a bishop the undoing of the damage of the Reformation.''"

Death

Diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, he died on 10 April 2006, aged 81, at Park House, Blackheath. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Charles (bishop) 1924 births 2006 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Waterford 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Irish expatriate Catholic bishops Christian clergy from County Waterford Deaths from cancer in England Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Knights of the Holy Sepulchre