{{Short description|Bishop of Leeds (born 1961)}} {{for|the rugby league footballer|Marcus Stock (rugby league)}} {{EngvarB|date=June 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = bishop | honorific-prefix = The Right Reverend | name = Marcus Stock | honorific-suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | title = Bishop of Leeds | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = Bishop Marcus shortly after his episcopal consecration in 2014 | church = Catholic Church | province = Liverpool | diocese = Leeds | see = Leeds | elected = | appointed = 15 September 2014 | term = | term_start = 13 November 2014 | quashed = | term_end = | predecessor = Arthur Roche | opposed = | successor = | other_post = <!---------- Orders ----------> | ordination = 13 August 1988 | ordained_by = Basil Hume | consecration = 13 November 2014 | consecrated_by = Vincent Nichols | cardinal = | created_cardinal_by = | rank = <!---------- Personal details ----------> | birth_name = Marcus Nigel Ralph Stock | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|08|27}} | birth_place = London, England | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | buried = | nationality = English | religion = Roman Catholic | residence = | parents = | occupation = | profession = | previous_post = General Secretary, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (2009–2014)<br />''Acting'' Director, Catholic Education Service (2011–2013)<br />Director of Schools, Archdiocese of Birmingham (1999–2009)<br />''Acting'' Director of Schools, Archdiocese of Birmingham (1995–1999)<br />Religious Education Teacher, European School, Culham (1991–1994)<br />Tutor in Theology, Archdiocese of Birmingham Permanent Diaconate Formation Program (1989–1994) | education = | alma_mater = Keble College, Oxford<br />English College, Rome<br />Pontifical Gregorian University<ref name="Vespers Biography"/> | motto = Desiderio, desideravi<br />''(I have desired with desire to be with you'' Luke, 22:15) | signature = | signature_alt = | coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Marcus Nigel Stock.svg | coat_of_arms_alt = }}{{Infobox bishop styles | bishop name = Marcus Stock | dipstyle = The Right Reverend | offstyle = Your Excellency/Your Grace | | relstyle = Bishop | image = File:Coat of arms of Marcus Nigel Stock.svg | deathstyle = }}{{Ordination | ordained deacon by = Basil Hume (Westminster) | date of diaconal ordination = | place of diaconal ordination = | ordained priest by = Maurice Couve de Murville (Birmingham) | date of priestly ordination = 13 August 1988 | place of priestly ordination = | consecrated by = Vincent Nichols (Westminster) | co-consecrators = Bernard Longley (Birmingham)<br />Arthur Roche (Leeds ''emeritus'') | date of consecration = 13 November 2014 | place of consecration = Leeds Cathedral | sources = [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bstockm.html] }}
'''Marcus Stock''' (born 27 August 1961) is an English bishop of the Catholic Church who has been the tenth Bishop of Leeds since 2014. In 2025 he was appointed apostolic administrator to the Diocese of Middlesbrough, and in 2026 apostolic administrator to the Diocese of Hallam, both in addition to his role in Leeds.<ref name="new job">{{cite web |title=Message from Bishop Marcus |url=https://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/message-from-bishop-marcus/ |website=Diocese of Leeds |access-date=22 December 2025 |language=en |date=22 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="hallam">{{cite web |title=Pope Leo appoints Bishop Marcus Stock Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hallam |url=https://www.cbcew.org.uk/pope-leo-appoints-bishop-marcus-stock-apostolic-administrator-of-the-diocese-of-hallam/ |website=Catholic Bishops' Conference |access-date=22 March 2026 |date=20 March 2026}}</ref>
==Early life== Marcus Nigel Ralph Stock was born on 27 August 1961 in London, England. He attended Oxford University, studying theology at Keble College.<ref name="Vespers Biography">{{cite book|author=Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds|author-link=Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds|title=Solemn Vespers on the Memorial of Saint Josaphat|location=Leeds|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds|page=2|date=12 November 2014}}</ref> He entered training for the priesthood at the Venerable English College and was awarded a Licence in Dogmatic Theology by the Pontifical Gregorian University.<ref name="Vespers Biography"/> He was ordained a Deacon whilst in Rome by Cardinal Basil Hume, the then Archbishop of Westminster.<ref name="Vespers Biography"/>
== Priestly ministry == Marcus Stock was ordained a priest in 1988 by Maurice Couve de Murville, Archbishop of Birmingham, and served in parishes across the Archdiocese of Birmingham, including Bloxwich and Coleshill, being appointed parish priest of the latter in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbcew.org.uk/marcus-stock/ |title=Rt Rev. Marcus Stock |website=Catholic Bishops' Conference |accessdate=8 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/coleshill-sacred-heart/ |title=Coleshill - Sacred Heart |website=Taking Stock |accessdate=8 June 2025}}</ref> Between 1991 and 1994, Stock was a teacher of Religious Education at the European School, Culham. He was appointed assistant director before being promoted to Director of the Archdiocesan Schools Commission between 1999 and 2009,<ref name="Vespers Biography"/> before being appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in the same year by Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. He led the Bishops' Conference during the Papal Visit to the UK in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and was in interim charge of the Catholic Education Service after the resignation of Oona Stannard. Shortly before his appointment as Bishop of Leeds it was announced that he would be succeeded at the Bishops' Conference by Christopher Thomas from the Diocese of Nottingham at the conclusion of his five-year term. In 2012, Marcus Stock was appointed Prelate of Honour by Pope Benedict XVI.
==Episcopal career== Pope Francis appointed Stock to the See of Leeds on 15 September 2014.<ref name="vatnom">{{cite web|title=Nomina del Vescovo di Leeds (Inghilterra)|url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2014/09/15/0635/01412.html|website=Vatican Press Office|access-date=27 September 2014|date=15 September 2014}}</ref> He chose the episcopal motto ''Desiderio, desideravi'' (Luke 22:15) which translates as ''I have desired with desire to be with you'' or ''I have eagerly desired'', referring to Jesus' fervent desire to celebrate the Passover with his disciples before his death. Stock attended Solemn Vespers on the eve of his consecration as bishop, where his episcopal insignia (ring, mitre and crozier) were blessed by John Wilson, the Diocesan Administrator (Vicar Capitular) for the Diocese of Leeds. His crozier was given as a gift from Stock's previous diocese, the Archdiocese of Birmingham.<ref name="Vespers Biography"/>
On 13 November 2014, Stock was consecrated the tenth Bishop of Leeds by Vincent Cardinal Nichols, along with the co-consecrators Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham (from the diocese Stock had previously ministered in) and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Apostolic Administrator and Bishop ''emeritus'' of Leeds (whom Stock succeeded).
Stock issued a pastoral letter on 25 September 2016 on ''Sacramental Preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation and the Provision of Youth Services'', changing the age at which the sacrament of Confirmation is generally conferred on young people from the age of 14 to 11,<ref>Diocese of Leeds, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000935/http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/assets/files/Sacrament-of-Confirmation-and-Youth-Services-Provision-2016.pdf Sacramental Preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation and the Provision of Youth Services], 25 September 2016, archived 5 February 2018, accessed 28 August 2023</ref> with consequential changes to the ages at which young people generally first receive the sacraments of reconciliation and holy communion.<ref>Diocese of Leeds, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000944/http://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/assets/files/Appendix-A---Guidance-on-Timing-of-Sacramental-Preparation.pdf Appendix A: Sacramental Preparation in the Diocese of Leeds: First Sacraments and the Sacrament of Confirmation], 25 September 2016, archived 5 February 2018, accessed 28 August 2023</ref>
In December 2025 he was appointed as the apostolic administrator to the Diocese of Middlesbrough, following the retirement of Bishop Terry Drainey. He has taken on this role in addition to his current role in Leeds, and mentioned in his letter to the diocese that Pope Leo XIV wanted them to consider how both dioceses might "journey together", noting that before 1878 they both used to be part of the Diocese of Beverley.<ref name="new job" />
In March 2026, following the resignation of Bishop Ralph Heskett, Stock was appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hallam. He confirmed had been tasked with beginning "a consultation with the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Hallam about a possible reunification with the Diocese of Leeds".<ref name="hallam" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{commons category}} *{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bstockm|Bishop Marcus Nigel Stock}} *[https://www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/bishop-of-leeds/ Right Reverend Marcus Nigel Stock, MA, STL, Tenth Bishop of Leeds] Profile on Diocese of Leeds website
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{{Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops in England and Wales}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Marcus}} Category:Living people Category:1961 births Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Category:Roman Catholic clergy from London Category:Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Category:Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Leeds Category:English College, Rome alumni Category:English Roman Catholic bishops