New Principal Chaplain for Royal Navy

ihR NEARLY 17 YEARS active service as a naval Chaplain Fr Richard Madders MBE has been selected to be Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain (Naval) in succession to Mgr Tom Burns SM who is the new Bishop of the Forces.
With the new position comes the title Monsignor and also that of Queen's Honorary Chaplain (QHC). As Vicar General for the Royal Navy Mgr Madders will be responsible for a team of 11 Catholic Chaplains serving in the RN.
He will also act as Director Naval Chaplaincy Service (NCS) at one star level for Training & Programmes. He will be responsible, with the Chaplain of the Fleet and one other Director, for the 70 strong NCS ecumenical team of chaplains serving the needs of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel. His new office will be in the Second Sea Lord's HQ (Victory Building) at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth.
Mgr Madders was born in Hastings 12 August 1949 and educated by the Xavarian Brothers at Mayfield College in Sussex. After working at a bank in the City and in various other jobs he commenced studies for the priesthood at Wonersh in 1972 and was ordained in St Thomas of Canterbury, his home parish in St Leonards on-Sea parish by Bishop, now Cardinal, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor on 23 June 1978.
Mgr Madder § served as Assistant Priest at St Ann's Banstead, St John the Baptist, Brighton and St Mary of the Angels, Worthing. In 1983/4 he undertook studies at Heythrop College (University of London) and obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Pastoral Theology.
Having joined the Royal Navy and completed introductory courses at HMS Raleigh and Britannia Royal Navy College Dartmouth, Mgr Madders served briefly in HMS Rooke at Gibraltar before commencing a seagoing appointment which took him to the Falklands, West Africa and the Caribbean.
In 1987 he was appointed to the Engineering Training Establishment HMS Sultan in Gosport, serving also at RNH Haslar. In 1990 following a brief appointment to the Clyde Submarine Base at Faslane there was a new appointment to sea. After serving in HMS Cardiff and HMS Gloucester for the duration of the Gulf War he was assigned to HMS Ark Royal and HMS Invincible. There followed ship visits to the United States, East Africa, and ministry in support of ship operations in the Adriatic in 1993.
After a staff role supervising RN seagoing Chaplaincy in 1993-95 Fr Madders
undertook various appointments in shore training Establishments. In 1999 he participated in Exercise Long Look as a UK Royal Navy exchange Chaplain at the Australian Defence Academy (Adfa) in Canberra, Australia. Since then he has served at both Portsmouth and Devonport Naval Bases. Fr Madders was awarded the MBE in 1996.
A keen motorcyclist, he was President of the Royal Navy Motorcycle Club from 1988 till 1999.