Pope Francis has appointed a new Catholic bishop for Hexham and Newcastle, who has pledged to make poverty and prisons his priority.
Bishop Robert Byrne will succeed The Right Reverend Seamus Cunningham as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
The 62-year-old becomes the fourteenth man to lead the diocese after Bishop Cunningham's 10-year stint in the job.
Asked about poverty in the North East, he said: "I'm well aware of that and I'm concerned about what we're seeing in Sunderland with Nissan, the jobs which will be lost or not created.
"I want to offer people hope and meet people living on the margins. That's what the bishop does.
"There is a lot of poverty in this part of the world and I want to address that."
Throughout his time as a priest, Bishop Byrne has worked with people incarcerated in the UK's struggling prison service.
The spotlight is on prisons such as HMP Northumberland, where ChronicleLive revealed almost a third of prisoners had tested positive for spice last year.
Bishop Byrne said: "My main ministry was in the prison service, where I did twenty odd years and I will be visiting the prisons around here.
"I will be making it central to my work. I've already spoke to Bishop Seamus about it. It's something I'm concerned about."
Asked about his predecessor, Bishop Byrne said: "He's laid the foundations here, he's a class act and a hard one to follow - but someone has to do it."
Bishop Cunningham said he was "delighted" to welcome Bishop Byrne as his replacement post-retirement.
Asked about his knowledge of the area, Bishop Byrne said: "I'm from Manchester and very much proud to be a Northerner, even though people up here think of Manchester as the Midlands.
"This is my home now - I've been asked to serve the church here and I will do that to the best of my ability."
He added: "I'm a Manchester United fan but I'll be going to watch Newcastle at St James' Park at some stage."
His installation will be celebrated in St Mary's Cathedral with a service on March 25.
