Apostolic Vicariate of the London District

Last updated
The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District
Location
Country England, British America, British North America
Territory
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Rite Latin Church
Established30 January 1688
Dissolved29 September 1850

The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved in 1850 and its former area was replaced by the episcopal sees of Westminster and Southwark.

Contents

Background

Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, in 1559, the bishops of England and Wales were forced to choose between taking the Oath of Supremacy, thus denying the authority of the Pope, and losing their episcopal sees. Those who chose to continue their allegiance to Rome were subsequently deposed and replaced in their sees by priests of the Church of England. Most of the deposed Bishops were imprisoned in various locations and died in captivity over a period of years, though some left the country and continued their work overseas. The last of the deposed bishops was Thomas Goldwell, Bishop of St Asaph, who died in Rome on April 3, 1585.

Apostolic Vicariate of England

In 1623, after 65 years of formal absence from England and Wales, Pope Urban VIII appointed a bishop with actual jurisdiction in England. [1] His choice fell upon William Bishop, who was given the title of Apostolic Vicar of England. [2] Bishop landed secretly in England at midnight on 31 July 1623, but was to die only nine months later. [3]

Bishop was succeeded in office by Richard Smith, [4] also ordained a bishop, who arrived in England in April 1625. However, two warrants were issued for Smith's arrest in August 1631, and he was forced to resign and flee to France, where he eventually died in Paris in 1655. After 1631, there was no Roman Catholic bishop in England for another 54 years, and the void was to some extent filled by a dean and chapter of rather unsure legal status, first established by Bishop and confirmed by Smith.

It was only in 1685 that a successor was appointed by Rome, in the person of John Leyburn, [5] a Doctor of Divinity of the Sorbonne and a former President of the English College at Douai, who was consecrated bishop in Rome on 9 September 1685. In 1623, Bishop had divided England into six areas, at the head of each of which he placed a superior with the title of vicar general, and this had remained the system thereafter. Leyburn reduced these six areas to four. In the summer of 1687 he toured the North of England and confirmed over 20,000 Catholics there.

Apostolic Vicariate of the London District

On 30 January 1688, the number of bishops in England and Wales was increased by the Pope to four vicars apostolic, as a result of which the single apostolic vicariate was divided into the London District, the Midland District, the Northern District and the Western District. [6] [7] The first vicar apostolic of the London District was Bishop John Leyburn, who had previously since 24 August 1685 served as Vicar Apostolic of England. In 1688, the Apostolic Vicariate of London also became responsible for Catholics in the British colonies of the New World. [8] This ended in Newfoundland on 30 May 1784 with the creation of the Apostolic Prefecture of Newfoundland, [9] and in the United States on 26 November 1784 with the creation of the Apostolic Prefecture of the United States. Although the vicariates as a whole were later more finely divided over the years, and notwithstanding intermittent persecution, an Apostolic Vicariate of the London District continued in existence until on 29 September 1850 when Pope Pius IX issued the bull Universalis Ecclesiae , by which thirteen new dioceses were created, [10] among them the metropolitan Diocese of Westminster, [11] a new jurisdiction which formally replaced part of the previous vicariate. At the same time, the remainder of the London District became the suffragan Diocese of Southwark. [12]

The last Apostolic Vicar of the London District was Bishop Nicholas Wiseman (d. 1865), [13] who on 29 September 1850 was assigned the title of Metropolitan Archbishop of Westminster. The following day he was created a cardinal. The district ceased to be missionary territory and exempt, its prelate becoming the head of the new English ecclesiastical province.

List of Apostolic Vicars of the London District

Vicars Apostolic of the London District
FromUntilIncumbentNotes
16881702 John Leyburn ,
Titular Bishop of Hadrumetum 		Hitherto Apostolic Vicar of England 1685–1688. Appointed apostolic vicar on 30 January 1688. Died in office on 9 June 1702.
17031734 Bonaventure Giffard ,
Titular Bishop of Madaurus 		Previously Apostolic Vicar of the Midland District 1687–1703. Appointed apostolic vicar on 14 March 1703. Died in office on 12 March 1734.
17341758 Benjamin Petre , O.S.B.,
Titular Bishop of Prusa 		Appointed coadjutor vicar apostolic on 23 June 1721 and consecrated titular bishop on 11 November 1721. Succeeded vicar apostolic on 12 March 1734. Died in office on 22 December 1758.
17581781 Richard Challoner ,
Titular Bishop of Doberus 		Appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar on 12 September 1739 and consecrated titular bishop on 29 January 1741. Succeeded apostolic vicar on 22 September 1758. Died in office on 12 January 1781.
17811790 James Robert Talbot ,
Titular Bishop of Birtha 		Appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar on 10 March 1759 and consecrated titular bishop on 24 August 1759. Succeeded apostolic vicar on 12 January 1781. Died in office on 26 January 1790.
17901812 John Douglass ,
Titular Bishop of Centuria 		Appointed apostolic vicar on 10 September 1790 and consecrated titular bishop on 19 December 1790. Died in office on 8 May 1812.
18121827 William Poynter ,
Titular Bishop of Alia 		Appointed coadjutor vicar apostolic on 6 Mar 1803 and consecrated titular bishop on 29 May 1803. Succeeded apostolic vicar on 8 May 1812. Died in office on 26 November 1827.
18271836 James Yorke Bramston ,
Titular Bishop of Usula 		Appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar on 4 February 1823 and consecrated titular bishop on 29 June 1823. Succeeded apostolic vicar on 26 November 1827. Died in office on 11 July 1836.
18361847 Thomas Griffiths ,
Titular Bishop of Olena 		Appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar on 30 July 1833 and consecrated titular bishop on 28 October 1833. Succeeded apostolic vicar on 11 July 1836. Died in office on 12 August 1847.
18481849 Thomas Walsh ,
Titular Bishop of Cambysopolis 		Previously Apostolic Vicar of the Central District 1840–1848. Appointed apostolic vicar on 17 July 1848. Died in office on 18 February 1849.
18491850 Nicholas Wiseman ,
Titular Bishop of Milopotamus 		Appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar on 29 August 1847 and succeeded apostolic vicar on 18 February 1849. Became the first Archbishop of Westminster on 29 September 1850.
In 1850, the London District was dissolved and replaced by the episcopal sees of Westminster and Southwark.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in the Province of Liverpool, known also on occasion as the Northern Province.

The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The archdiocese covers an area of 5,504 km2. The metropolitan see is in the City of Edinburgh where the archbishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary. The eighth and current archbishop is Leo Cushley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster</span> Roman Catholic diocese in England

The Diocese of Westminster is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Spelthorne, and the county of Hertfordshire, which lies immediately to London's north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham</span> Catholic archdiocese in England

The Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The archdiocese covers an area of 3,373 square miles (8,740 km2), encompassing Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of Oxfordshire as well as Caversham in Berkshire. The metropolitan see is in the City of Birmingham at the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Chad. The metropolitan province includes the suffragan dioceses of Clifton and Shrewsbury.

The Apostolic Vicariate of the Lancashire District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in England. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1840 and was replaced by two dioceses in 1850.

The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District was created in 1688 and changed its name to the Central District in 1840. It was dissolved in 1850 and was replaced by two dioceses.

The Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District was created in 1688 and dissolved in 1850 and was replaced by the Diocese of Hexham, which changed to the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in 1861.

The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was created in 1688 and was dissolved in 1850 and replaced by two dioceses.

The Archbishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and metropolitan of the Province of Liverpool in England.

John Leyburn was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of England from 1685 to 1688 and then when it was divided served as the Vicar Apostolic of the London District from 1688 to 1702. He was not only a theologian, but also a mathematician, and an intimate friend of Descartes and Hobbes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonaventure Giffard</span>

Bonaventure Giffard (1642–1734) was a Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District of England from 1687 to 1703 and Vicar Apostolic of the London District of England from 1703 to 1734.

<i>Universalis Ecclesiae</i> 1850 papal bull by Pope Pius IX re-establishing the Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England

Universalis Ecclesiae was a papal bull of 29 September 1850 by which Pope Pius IX recreated the Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England, which had been extinguished with the death of the last Marian bishop in the reign of Elizabeth I. New names were given to the dioceses, as the old ones were in use by the Church of England. The bull aroused considerable anti-Catholic feeling among English Protestants.

Michael Ellis was an English Benedictine monk who was a prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England and Wales, and subsequently Bishop of Segni in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Chapter</span>

The Old Chapter was the body in effective control of the Roman Catholic Church in England from 1623 until an episcopal hierarchy was restored in 1850.

Charles Michael Baggs (1806–1845) was a Roman Catholic bishop, controversialist, scholar and antiquary. He briefly served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England from 1844 to 1845.

George Hilary Brown was an English prelate who served as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Liverpool from 1850 to 1856.

George Witham was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District, and, later, as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District.

James Sharples (1797–1850) was an English Roman Catholic bishop. He served as coadjutor to the Vicar Apostolic of the Lancashire District from 1843 until his death in 1850.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolic Vicariate of England</span> 17th-century Catholic jurisdiction

The Apostolic Vicariate of England (and Wales) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic (or apostolic vicar) who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1623 and was divided into four districts in 1688.

References

  1. ↑ Schofield & Skinner 2009, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 68–73.
  3. ↑ Brady 1876c, p. 73.
  4. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 74–103.
  5. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 140–144.
  6. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 145–146.
  7. ↑ Schofield & Skinner 2009, pp. 14, 87, 143, 197.
  8. ↑ Guilday, Peter (1920). "Guide to the Materials for American Church History in the Westminster Diocesan Archives (1675-1798)". The Catholic Historical Review. 5 (4): 382–401. ISSN   0008-8080. JSTOR   25011653.
  9. ↑ History of the Archdiocese | The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s
  10. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 348–368.
  11. ↑ Brady 1876c, p. 369.
  12. ↑ Brady 1876c, p. 446.
  13. ↑ Brady 1876c, pp. 369–381.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.