The Venerable

Tricia Hillas
Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons
Tricia Hillas (second from left) taking part in the procession from the House of Commons at the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.
DioceseRoyal Peculiar
In officeFebruary 2020 to present
PredecessorRose Hudson-Wilkin
Other post(s)
Orders
Ordination2002 (deacon)
2003 (priest)
Personal details
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Patricia Dorothy Hillas (called Tricia;[1] born 1966) is a Church of England priest. She has served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons since 2020[2] and a Canon of Westminster since 2021.

Early life

Hillas was born in 1966[3] in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to an Indian mother and a British father. She moved to the UK with her family in 1971.[1] She trained as a social worker, before her ordination in 2002. She completed a MSc in conflict resolution and mediation in the 2010s.[4]

Career

Before Hillas's ordination she was a youth and social worker specialising in supporting those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.[5]

She was ordained deacon in 2002 and priest in 2003. She served her curacy (2002 to 2005) at the Kensal Rise Team Ministry. From 2005 to 2014 she was vicar of St Barnabas Northolt Park. From 2014 until 2020 she was Canon Pastor at St Paul's Cathedral.[6] In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, Hillas led a team supporting the families of victims.[2]

In October 2019, Hillas was announced as the next Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.[1] She took up the post in February 2020,[7] and was inaugurated during a service in St Margaret's Church, Westminster on 4 March 2020.[8] In 2020, she was appointed as the Priest-in-Charge of St Mary-at-Hill, City of London:[1] she resigned the parish post when she was appointed to her canonry.

Remaining Speaker's Chaplain, Hillas was installed as a Canon of Westminster on 9 May 2021;[9] she became Canon Steward and Archdeacon of Westminster shortly afterwards (before 31 May 2021).[10] In that role, she took part in the 2023 Coronation.[11]


On 13 May 2021, she led a short service to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Parliament in World War II.[12]

Personal life

Hillas has been married to Andrew Hillas, who is head of the youth offending service for Southwark.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Speaker's Statement – Hansard". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Rev Canon Patricia Hillas named as new Speaker's Chaplain – News from Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Patricia Dorothy Hillas". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. ^ "New Canon Pastor appointed at St Paul's – St Paul's Cathedral". www.stpauls.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  5. ^ "New chaplain to speaker of the House of Commons announced". www.premier.org.uk.
  6. ^ "Canon Patricia Dorothy HILLAS". www.crockford.org.uk.
  7. ^ Lindsay Hoyle, Mr Speaker (24 February 2020). "Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 672. United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 1–.
  8. ^ "Tricia Hillas inaugurated as Speaker's Chaplain". Westminster Abbey. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Speaker's Chaplain installed as Canon of Westminster". Westminster Abbey. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  10. ^ "2020 Report (page 46)" (PDF). Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  12. ^ "In pictures: Commons marks 80 years since WW2 bombing". BBC News. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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