Rogers Morgan Govender MBE (born 29 June 1960) is a South African Anglican priest. Since 2006, he has been Dean of Manchester. He is a sixth generation South African.
On arrival in England, he was priest-in-charge of Christ Church, West Didsbury in South Manchester and Area Dean of Withington. In 2006 he was appointed Dean of Manchester.[3] The Dean is based in Manchester, England and is the head of the Chapter of Manchester Cathedral. At the time of his appointment was England's first black cathedral dean, and the third most senior black or Asian churchman in the Church of England. His aim is to accommodate people of all races in the inner city.
Govender filled in for Tom Hanks in a spoofedDa Vinci Code movie poster in 2006,[4] to promote a "Da Vinci Code Mass" at the cathedral intended to address issues raised by the controversial book, and the movie based on it. The mass was inspired by a poll revealing that the book and movie may have undermined public trust in the Catholic Church.[5]
Personal life
Govender is married to Celia. They have two children, Jonathan and Claire.[2]
Honours
In 2018 Govender was awarded an MBE for his services to interfaith relations and to the community in Manchester.[6]