THE Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, died on Tuesday, just three weeks after announcing that he had been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer (News, 13 February).
He died peacefully, surrounded by his family, the Bishop of Dorking, the Rt Revd Paul Davies, said in a notice on Tuesday evening.
In a statement on 10 February, Bishop Watson had said that stomach pain, an aversion to eating, and consequent weight-loss had prompted a series of investigations in the New Year, which had ultimately led to his diagnosis of a large tumour in the pancreas that week.
In a pastoral letter ten days later, on 20 February, he said that his oncologist had told him that the tumour was “particularly aggressive” and that he would be “doing well” if he was alive in a month’s time (News, 27 February). He was put into the care of the hospice team.
Bishop Watson wrote: “I don’t fear the prospect of dying and find to my relief that my faith in the ‘resurrection of the body and the life everlasting’ has only grown stronger over the past few weeks.” While he had had “grumpy patches”, he considered himself “deeply blessed” to have been born into a loving family, to have been “joyfully married” for 40 years and raised four “remarkable” children, and to have had such a fulfilling ministry in the Church of England.
Bishop Watson had previously hoped to continue in office until Easter, but after the news had signed a deed of delegation handing responsibility for the diocese to Bishop Davies.
Announcing his death on Tuesday, Bishop Davies said: “Whilst his family mourn the loss of a much-loved husband, father, grandfather, son, and brother, we mourn the loss of a much-loved diocesan bishop — as well as an inspiring fellow disciple, dear brother in Christ, precious friend, and special colleague.”
He continued: “In the midst of the shock and sadness of the last few months, Bishop Andrew has been an inspiration. For me, personally, he has taught me so much about how we should live and, in these past months, about how we should die.”
Last week, an all-day prayer vigil was held at Guildford Cathedral, in which almost 2000 clergy and lay people from the diocese and beyond attended in a show of support.
Bishop Watson was born in 1961 and grew up in Buckinghamshire and Hampshire. He read law at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, before training for the priesthood at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He was ordained deacon in 1987 and priest in 1988.
He served curacies at St Peter’s, Ipsley, in Worcester diocese, until 1991, and St John and St Peter, Notting Hill, in the diocese of London, until 1996. He was appointed Vicar of Twickenham East, where he served until 2008, during which time he was also Area Dean of Hampton. He was consecrated bishop for the suffragan see of Aston, in Birmingham diocese, in 2008, before his translation to Guildford in 2014.
He is survived by his wife, Beverly, four children (Hannah, Sam, Joe, and Lydia), and three grandchildren, as well as his mother and three siblings.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who very recently visited Bishop Watson in his home, said on Tuesday that her thoughts and prayers were with his family: “It is with great sorrow that I received news of Bishop Andrew’s death. Andrew was a man of deep Christian faith who lived his life in the service of Christ and others. In the face of death, he demonstrated a calm reassurance of God’s saving grace.
“Over four decades of ministry, Andrew made an enormous contribution to the life of the Church of England — and, through his concern for Anglicans and other Christians around the world, the global Church. He was a gentle man and generous with those who held differing theological views. He will be greatly missed, not just by his family and friends, but by the whole Church.”
The Dean of Guildford, the Very Revd Bob Cooper, said: “We have lost a shepherd, a servant, and a dear friend.”
The Diocesan Secretary, Geraldine Newbold, said that this was “a very sad time for our diocese. Bishop Andrew was such a wonderful, caring man, who was genuinely interested in people and loved spending time with parishioners. He was also incredibly gifted and knowledgeable, and we all learnt a lot from him.”
Obituary to follow
