THE Rural Dean of Ramsey, Canon David Greenwood, will be leaving the Isle of Man next year to take up a new appointment in South America.

Canon Greenwood, who is currently Vicar of St Paul's Ramsey, Rural Dean of Ramsey, and the Anglican Chaplain at H.M Prison, will leave these roles in April 2012 to take up a new post from May 2012 as Chaplain to the Church of Saint Peter, Vina del Mar, Chile, South America.

Canon Greenwood was appointed to his present parish in Ramsey in 1999 and was the last vicar to be inducted into a parish on the Island in the last century.

He has worked previously in South America when he lived in Paraguay in the early 1980s.

He said, “I shall miss the Island and its people greatly, but will be retaining a home here for holidays and to return to in the future.”

He added that he was looking forward to the challenge that awaits him in his new post and is trusting that his previous fluency in Spanish will return quickly upon his arrival in Latin America.