LANCASTER formally welcomed Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue on Wednesday, at a simple ceremony at the cathedral.

He was joined by relatives from as far away as Ireland and the USAfor his official Mass of Installation, at which he became only the fifth catholic Bishop of Lancaster.

Around 700 people -- including more than 30 members of Bishop Patrick's family -- packed in to the cathedral.

They saw Monsignor Patrick O'Dea read out the official letter of appointment from Pope John Paul II while Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool invited him to sit it the special Bishop's chair, with its new motto 'blessed are the poor' and coat of arms.

The preacher was Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor of Westminster.

At the special welcoming moment in the ceremony, young and old members of the Diocese came forward to greet the new Bishop.

These included two children from the Cathedral Primary School. Women lay representatives from Lancashire and Cumbria, the Matron of Nazareth House, Lancaster, the youngest ordained priest and the oldest deacon in the diocese, and Anne Foley, a mainstay of the three year 'new start with Jesus' programme.

At Bishop Patrick's request, the service welcomed representatives of other faiths locally.

Four Anglican Bishops, from Blackburn, Lancaster, Carlisle and Penrith, and represenatives of the Methodists, Free Church and Salvation Army.

Bishop Patrick's first official public duty comes on Friday evening when he will ordain five new Deacons, including Stephen Pendlebury, a teacher from Mrecambe and Jim Murphy, a parish lay assistant from Heysham.