Bishop's Council

 Michael was born in Wealdstone, Middlesex, the youngest of three sons to George and Anna Harrison. He was baptised  at St Joseph’s Church on September 11th 1960, aged three weeks. In 1962 the family moved to the new town of Bletchley,  Bucks where he attended local schools including the newly-opened St Thomas Aquinas Primary School. Fr Patrick Carey was the local priest, busily building up the parish, catering for the throngs of young families moving out of London . Michael received his First Sacraments in the brand new church of All Saints and was Confirmed there at the age of nine by Bishop Charles Grant in 1969.

At college Michael studied business studies and entered the world of work in 1978, working for the Lord Chancellor’s Department of the Civil Service in the High Court in London and in the local County Court.

By this time Michael was beginning to suspect that his vocation lay elsewhere. A notable occasion was when he attended Ninian Park, Cardiff for the youth event of the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982. He made many friends that day including Francis Higgins, later Canon Francis of this Diocese. Along with other young people they formed youth groups within the church and explored the faith with the help and example of fine local priests including Fr Frank Duane.

Michael decided to try his vocation as a priest, was accepted as a seminarian by Bishop Francis Thomas and commenced his formation at St Mary’s College, Oscott in 1984. After six years of formation he was ordained priest in his home parish, in All Saints Church, Bletchley on 7th July 1990 by Bishop Leo McCartie.

His first appointment was as the assistant priest to Fr Paddy Crowe in Our Lady Help of Christians in Luton; along with Fr Mark Floody he was Chaplain to Cardinal Newman School and for five years they were Youth Chaplains on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Fr Michael then went on to Our Lady of Walsingham, Corby, as assistant to the then Vicar General Mgr Pat McAleenan. At the same time he was appointed Diocesan Youth Officer, an office he held for five years, with special responsibility for the Diocesan Youth Service, work now undertaken by NYMO.

Subsequent appointments included being Parish Priest at St John Ogilvie’s in Corby, St Gregory the Great in Northampton, St Thomas Aquinas and All Saints in Bletchley along with St Alban in Winslow and then St Anthony of Padua in Slough. In 2014 Fr Michael returned to Our Lady of Walsingham Corby as Parish Priest where his responsibilities soon expanded to include the parishes of St John Ogilvie in Corby, The Most Holy Name of Jesus in Oundle, St Paul the Apostle in Thrapston and St Thomas More in Raunds. By this time, in 2016, he had been elected as a Canon of the Chapter, and was soon appointed as Dean of the local Pastoral Area and Director of Ongoing Formation of Clergy.

In 2021 Bishop David appointed Canon Michael as Vicar General of the Diocese and reduced his responsibilities in Thrapston, Oundle and Raunds and in Ongoing Formation.

Canon Michael commented that nobody was more surprised than he at the appointment.
“I thank Bishop David for having the confidence in me to fulfil this important role as carried out so diligently by Mgr Sean Healy for the last twenty years. I have a great love for the Diocese of Northampton which has been my home for virtually my whole life; I hope that my experience and knowledge of our Diocese will be of help to Bishop David and my fellow clergy.”