Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster
Diocese of Westminster Dioecesis Vestmonasteriensis | |
---|---|
Westminster | |
Deaneries | 23 |
Statistics | |
Area | 3,634 km2 (1,403 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2017) 4,914,400 439,740 (8.9%) |
Parishes | 214 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | 29 September 1850 |
Cathedral | Westminster Cathedral |
Secular priests | 366 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Vincent Nichols |
Auxiliary Bishops | |
Vicar General | Martin Hayes |
Map | |
Website | |
rcdow.org.uk |
The Diocese of Westminster (
The diocese is led by the
The
History
The diocese essentially covers the same region as the Church of England Diocese of London as it was before the English Reformation until 1850, adopting—like all other dioceses across England (created that year)[5]—an alternative name (originally because of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851) but based on the centuries-old divisions of the country.[6] The diocese effectively survived the period of Catholic oppression in English history as a missionary territory established by canons accepted by Rome in 1622 as the Apostolic Vicariate of England which was in public law pronounced in England and Wales illegal as counter to the established church.
The mostly clandestine apostolic vicariate covering the country was divided so that the Apostolic Vicariate of London District formed on 30 January 1688 coinciding with a degree of freedoms. By decree of
Present
On 3 April 2009, it was announced that the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, would become the 11th Archbishop of Westminster.[7] Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, who was installed as tenth Archbishop of Westminster on 22 March 2000 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal-priest of the title of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva by Pope John Paul II on 21 February 2001, became archbishop emeritus. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor had announced on 9 July 2007 that, in accordance with the age limit of 75 years prescribed for bishops in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, he had submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI, but that the Pope had asked him to continue in his pastoral ministry as archbishop beyond the age limit until further provision was made, as occurred in 2009.
The archbishop is usually assisted by four
The metropolitan curia and
The Diocese is a
Bishops
Ordinaries
Vicars Apostolic of England (and Wales)
- William Bishop (1623–1624)
- Richard Smith (1624–1632)
- John Leyburn (1685–1688); see below
Vicars Apostolic of London District
- John Leyburn (1688–1702); see above
- Bonaventure Giffard (1703–1734)
- Benjamin Petre (1734–1758)
- Richard Challoner (1758–1781)
- James Robert Talbot(1781–1790)
- John Douglass (1790–1812)
- William Poynter (1812–1827)
- James Yorke Bramston(1827–1836)
- Thomas Griffiths (1836–1847)
- Thomas Walsh (1848–1849)
- Nicholas Wiseman (1849–1850): see below; future Cardinal
Archbishops
- Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1850–1865): see above
- Cardinal Henry Manning (1865–1892)
- Cardinal Herbert Vaughan (1892–1903)
- Cardinal Francis Bourne (1903–1935)
- Cardinal Arthur Hinsley (1935–1943)
- Cardinal Bernard Griffin (1943–1956)
- Cardinal William Godfrey (1956–1963)
- Cardinal John Carmel Heenan(1963–1976)
- Cardinal Basil Hume, OSB (1976–1999)
- Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (2000–2009)
- Cardinal Vincent Nichols (2009–present)
Coadjutor Vicars Apostolic
- James Yorke Bramston(1823–1827)
- Richard Challoner (1739–1758)
- Robert Gradwell (1828–1833), did not succeed to see
- Thomas Griffiths (1833–1836)
- Henry Howard (1720), did not take effect
- Benjamin Petre (1721–1734)
- William Poynter (1803–1812)
- James Robert Talbot(1759–1781)
Coadjutor Archbishops
- George Errington (1855–1860), did not succeed to see
- Edward Myers (1951–1956), did not succeed to see
Auxiliary Bishops
- William Weathers (1872–1895)
- James Laird Patterson (1880–1902)
- Robert Brindle (1899–1901), appointed Bishop of Nottingham
- Algernon Charles Stanley (1903–1928)
- Patrick Fenton (1904–1918)
- William Anthony Johnson (1906–1909)
- Joseph Butt (1911–1938)
- Emmanuel John Bidwell (1917–1930)
- Edward Myers (1932-–1951), appointed Coadjutor here
- David James Mathew (1938–1946), appointed apostolic delegate and titular archbishop
- George Laurence Craven (1947–1967)
- David John Cashman(1958–1965), appointed Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
- Patrick Joseph Casey (1965–1969), appointed Bishop of Brentwood
- Basil Butler (1966–1986)
- Gerald Thomas Mahon (1970–1992)
- Victor Guazzelli (1970–1996)
- David Konstant (1977–1985), appointed Bishop of Leeds
- Philip James Benedict Harvey (1977–1990)
- James Joseph O'Brien (1977–2005)
- John Patrick Crowley(1986–1992), appointed Bishop of Middlesbrough
- Vincent Gerard Nichols(1991–2000), appointed Archbishop of Birmingham; later returned here as Archbishop; future Cardinal
- Patrick O'Donoghue (1993–2001), appointed Bishop of Lancaster
- Arthur Roche (2001–2002), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Leeds
- George Stack (2001–2011), appointed Archbishop of Cardiff, Wales
- Bernard Longley (2003–2009), appointed Archbishop of Birmingham
- Alan Stephen Hopes (2003–2013), appointed Bishop of East Anglia
- John Stanley Kenneth Arnold (2005–2014), appointed Bishop of Salford
- John Francis Sherrington (2011–present)
- Nicholas Gilbert Erskine Hudson (2014–present)
- John Wilson (2015–2019), appointed Archbishop of Southwark
- Paul McAleenan (2015–present)
- James Curry (2024–present)
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
- Bonaventure Giffard, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Western District in 1688; later returned here as Vicar Apostolic
- James Smith, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1688
- John Talbot Stonor, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1715
- Francis Petre, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1750
- Thomas Joseph Talbot, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1766
- William Walton, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1770
- Charles Berington, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1786
- John Vertue (Virtue), appointed Bishop of Portsmouth in 1882
- John Larkin, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada in 1832 and Bishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1849; neither took effect; became a Jesuit in 1840
- Charles Michael Baggs, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Western District in 1844
- Thomas Grant, appointed Bishop of Southwark in 1851
- John Baptist Butt, appointed auxiliary bishop of Southwark in 1884
- Henry O'Callaghan, appointed Bishop of Hexham and New Castle in 1887
- Peter Emmanuel Amigo, appointed Bishop of Southwark in 1904
- Thomas Dunn, appointed Bishop of Nottingham in 1916
- Bernard Nicholas Ward, appointed Apostolic Administrator, later Bishop, of Brentwood in 1917
- James Donald Scanlan, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Dunkeld, Scotland in 1946
- Derek John Harford Worlock, appointed Bishop of Portsmouth in 1965
- William Gordon Wheeler, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Middlesbrough in 1964, later Bishop, of Leeds in 1966
- Mark O'Toole, appointed Bishop of Plymouth in 2013
Liturgical and pastoral life
Liturgy in the diocese is primarily based around the
The diocese is also responsible for many institutional chaplaincies, including
There are a large number of religious communities in the diocese. Religious orders of men include: the
Religious communities of women include the Carmelites at Golders Green and Ware; the Poor Clares in Barnet; the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories at the cathedral; the Ursulines of Jesus at Hoxton, Kingsland and Stamford Hill; the Dominicans at Bushey, Cricklewood, Ealing, Edgware, Harpenden, Harrow on the Hill, Haverstock Hill, Hemel Hempstead, Osterley, Stevenage and Pinner. The Institute of the BVM is located in Swiss Cottage, Acton, Osterley, Redbourn and St Albans. The Sisters of Mercy are located at the cathedral, Acton East, Bethnal Green, Bow, Clapton Park, Commercial Road, Cricklewood, Feltham, Hampton Hill, Hillingdon, Kensal, Newtown, Marylebone Road, St Albans, St John's Wood, Twickenham and Underwood Road. The Servants of the Mother of God at Bayswater, Hampton and Somers Town.
The diocese is involved in both the independent and state school sectors. Some 159 state and 10 independent
Music in the diocese is as diverse as the communities represented in it, but the all-male
See also
- List of churches in the City of Westminster
- St George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport
- Catholic Church in England and Wales
- List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom
Notes and references
- Notes
- References
- ^ a b "Our Diocese ..." Diocese of Westminster official website. Diocese of Westminster. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ "As ordinary of the Diocese of Westminster his jurisdiction extends over much the same area as that of the Bishop of London. As chief metropolitan, he occupies a position similar to that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England" (Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.). (At the bottom of the article, the first source listed is "Archives of the Diocese of Westminster.) Retrieved 2017-06-14. "By the grant in the Apostolic Constitution of 'certain new distinctions of preeminence', for the preservation of unity in government and policy, to the archbishop of Westminster for the time being, comprised under the following three heads: He will be permanent chairman of the meetings of the Bishops of all England and Wales, and for this reason it will be for him to summon these meetings and to preside over them, according to the rules in force in Italy and elsewhere. (2) He will take rank above the other two Archbishops, and will throughout all England and Wales enjoy the privilege of wearing the Pallium, of occupying the throne, and of having the cross borne before him. (3) Lastly, in all dealings with the Supreme Civil Authority, he will in his person represent the entire Episcopate of England and Wales. Always, however, he is to take the opinion of all the Bishops, and to be guided by the votes of the major part of them'. Thus, though the Archbishop of Westminster was vested with more powers and privileges than primates usually enjoy, unity of action has been safeguarded" (Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.). .
- ^ "Our Diocese..." Diocese of Westminster.
- ^ The Anglican Diocese of Liverpool was not created until 1880, thirty years after the Roman Catholic Diocese (now Archdiocese) of Liverpool was established.
- ^ Brady, William Maziere (1877). Annals of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Scotland, A.D. 1585-1876. London: John Mozley Stark.
- ^ Damian Thompson (2 April 2009). "Archbishop Vincent Nichols is the new leader of Catholics in England and Wales, sources confirm". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Find an Ethnic Chaplaincy - Diocese of Westminster".
- ^ Lindsay Koob (4 June 2010). "The world's finest academic choir takes its audience to choral heaven". Charleston City Paper. charlestoncitypaper.com. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Tom Hall (12 May 2003). "Palestrina: Westminster Cathedral Choir". The Journal (Newcastle, England). thefreelibrary.com Reviews.
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster official website
- GCatholic.org
- "Diocese of Westminster". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- Parishes of the Diocese