Peter Francis was born and brought up in Chepstow, Monmouthshire. He studied theology at the University of St Andrews and Queen’s College, Birmingham. He was ordained into the Anglican Church in 1978. His twenty-six years of ministry include periods in England, Scotland and Wales. He began his ministry in the West Midlands before becoming a Chaplain at the University of London. From London, he moved to Scotland as Rector of Ayr and then became Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral ,Glasgow. In 1997, Peter returned to the Welsh borderlands to become Warden of St Deiniol’s Library.

From his time living in the East End of London and working in Glasgow, Peter has developed an interest in urban theology. The Cathedral team ministry in Glasgow included daughter churches and projects in the Urban Priority Areas of Possilpark and Clydebank as well as central Glasgow. In Glasgow, he chaired the Diocesan Mission Board and was responsible for the implementation of the Glasgow projects for the Scottish equivalent of the Church Urban Fund. After his move to Wales, Peter initiated the annual meetings of the Urban Church Collective at St Deiniol’s, a gathering of urban theologians and practitioners. A book of their reflections Faithfulness In The City (Monad Press) with an introduction by Peter, was published in 2003.

In contrast to this urban work, Peter has encouraged postgraduate work in Rural Ministry based residentially at St Deiniol’s Library. The project was initially a collaboration venture between the University of Wales, Bangor and the Arthur Rank Centre but is now administered in conjunction with York St John University. Peter has co-edited a book Changing Rural Life based on a major consultation held at St Deiniol’s on rural issues and ministry. It was published in January 2005 by SCM-Canterbury Press.

Urban and rural theology issues reflect Peter’s commitment to issues of peace and justice. He was the Scottish Representative on the Anglican Peace and Justice Network and participated in their 1996 discussions and meetings with the IMF and World Bank. That same commitment has been a catalyst for his involvement in working for a more inclusive church.

Peter was one of the co-founders with Monica Furlong and others of the St Hilda Community, a group committed to creating inclusive liturgy and providing a radical voice in the Movement for the Ordination of Women in the Anglican Communion. In Scotland and at Hawarden, he has continued to explore issues of ‘inclusivity’ in liturgy and church structures. He delivered the 2002 Hellins lecture in Wrexham and St Asaph Hearing One Another Into Being on isues of inclusivity, contextualisation and the future of Anglicanism. He has been a Church in Wales representative on a CCBI consultation on Human Sexuality. He was a contributor to Dreaming of Eden (Wild Goose Publications, 1997) a book of reflections on Christianity and Sexuality. He has edited and contributed to Rebuilding Communion (Monad Press, 2008) a book reflecting on the current crisis over sexual orientation in Anglicanism.

Peter is currently writing a book on religious film and has co-edited a book exploring the same issue, Cinema Divinite, SCM-Canterbury Press, May 2005. St Deiniol's Library has been instrumental in promoting study and research on film and theology and has hosted an annual conference since 1998.

The role of Warden of St Deiniol’s has led to Peter’s interest in the life and influence of the Library’s founder, William Ewart Gladstone. Peter has edited two collections of lectures on Gladstone: The Grand Old Man (Monad Press, 2000) and The Gladstone Umbrella (Monad Press, 2001).

At London University, Holy Tinity Ayr, Glasgow’s St Mary’s Cathedral and St Deiniol’s Library, Peter has overseen major fundraising and development projects and welcomes the opportunity to re-think and re-shape the mission and purpose of buildings and structures  to suit contemporary needs.

Peter preaches and lectures in the USA and Australia and has been a  frequent broadcaster on the BBC (BBC Wales, BBC Scotland, Radio 4).

Following the dissolution of his fist marriage in 1999, Peter married Helen in 2001 and they live at St Deiniol’s Library with Helen’s sixteen year old daughter, Lucy.