We are pleased to share that the Revd Canon Tricia Hillas has been appointed Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Her new role
also involves providing pastoral care for Members and staff of the Palace of Westminster and includes being Priest in Charge of St Mary at
Hill in the City of London.
Tricia joined the Cathedral as Canon and Pastor in early 2014 and has been responsible for the Cathedral’s pastoral mission, overseeing the
welfare of all people at St Paul’s and all those who visit and worship at the Cathedral. Her work has also focused on community engagement across
London, including interfaith and social justice.
On her appointment, the Dean of St Paul’s said:
“Tricia Hillas is a warm, intelligent, perceptive and creative colleague. In her work as Canon and Pastor at St Paul's for more than five years,
Tricia has excelled: not only in her support for cathedral staff, volunteers and visitors, personally and in their work lives across a wide range
of roles, but also by expanding her work to include care for those neglected by others, and engagement with the needs of wider society. She has
challenged and stretched St Paul's to be more inclusive of others, and I'm sure she will do a great job as Chaplain in Parliament in the midst of
the great variety of people and issues she will encounter there. We will miss her and her contributions very much indeed; we wish her well, and
will be praying for her in her new ministry.”
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, said:
“In these extraordinary political times, Tricia is an outstanding candidate to become the next Speaker’s Chaplain. She has provided inspirational,
pastoral leadership at the heart of St Paul’s public outreach work, engaging with diverse communities across the capital, and she will now play a
pivotal role in Westminster, at a time of such profound uncertainty for the country.
“Tricia will contribute so much to Parliament, not least wisdom, friendship, calm and humour. Her background as a social worker, and her studies in
conflict resolution, will undoubtedly come to the fore. I know that she will also thrive in her return to parish ministry in London at St
Mary-at-Hill, having previously served as Vicar in Northolt.”
Reflecting on her time at the Cathedral and new appointment, Canon Tricia said:
“St Paul’s is the most awe-inspiring community to be part of and during my time here I have been honoured to be part of this community and to see
at first hand all that the people here, individually and collectively, accomplish day by day as well as on great occasions. St Paul’s says that its
hope is for people in all their diversity to encounter the transforming love of God in Jesus Christ and I am extraordinarily grateful to have
worked alongside colleagues who make that a reality. I am excited to take up this new role, building on all I have learned at St Paul’s and to
immerse myself in Parliament and alongside the people of St Mary at Hill in supporting those whose decisions have a real and lasting impact on
people and communities across the UK.”
Before joining the Cathedral, Tricia was Vicar of St Barnabas in Northolt and formerly the Sub-Dean for Northolt, Perivale and Greenford. Born in
Kuala Lumpur, Tricia trained as a senior social worker, before ordination in 2002.
Tricia is expected to take up her new appointment early next year.
