A FORMER Oxfordshire bishop who was among the most high-profile converts to the Roman Catholic faith has died aged 89 after a long illness.

The Rev Monsignor Canon Conrad Meyer, right, died at home in Newquay on Saturday, July 23.

Ordained as an Anglican priest in 1949, he was appointed Bishop of Dorchester in 1979, a position he held until 1987. During his time in Oxfordshire, he lived in Norham Gardens, Oxford, and Freeland, near Witney.

His widow, Mary Meyer, 80, said: “He was passionate about young people and thought it was vital to get to know and understand other faiths.”

After moving to Cornwall in the late 1980s, he was appointed honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Truro.

But in 1994 he decided to leave the Anglican Church and join the Roman Catholic faith. Mrs Meyer said: “When it got to the ordination of women in the Church of England, he decided to become a Catholic priest.”