Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool

Last updated

Archdiocese of Liverpool

Archidioecesis Liverpolitana
Arms of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.jpg
Location
CountryFlag of England.svg  England
Flag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man
TerritoryFlag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man
Flag of Lancashire.svg  Lancashire (south of the Ribble)
With parts of:
County Flag of Merseyside.svg  Merseyside
Flag of Cheshire.svg  Cheshire
County Flag of Greater Manchester.svg  Greater Manchester
Ecclesiastical province Province of Liverpool
Statistics
Area1,165 km2 (450 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2019)
1,819,300 [1]
498,360 (27.4%)
Parishes154
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
EstablishedDiocese on 29 September 1850
Archdiocese on 28 October 1911
Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King
Co-cathedral Co-Cathedral of St. Mary of the Isle
Secular priests 190
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Archbishop Malcolm McMahon
Auxiliary Bishops
Thomas Neylon
Vicar GeneralCanon Aidan Prescott
Bishops emeritus
Thomas Williams
Map
Province of Liverpool.png
  The Archdiocese of Liverpool shown within the Province of Liverpool, also known as the Northern Province
Website
liverpoolcatholic.org.uk

The Archdiocese of Liverpool (Latin : Archidioecesis Liverpolitana) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese is the centre of the Ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool which covers the north of England as well as the Isle of Man.

Contents

History

With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Roman Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th century, Rome decided to proceed to bridge the gap of the centuries from Queen Elizabeth I by instituting Catholic dioceses on the regular historical pattern. Thus Pope Pius IX issued the bull Universalis Ecclesiae of 29 September 1850 by which thirteen new dioceses which did not formally claim any continuity with the pre-Elizabethan English dioceses were created.

One of these was the diocese of Liverpool. Initially it comprised the Hundreds of West Derby, Leyland, Fylde, Amounderness and Lonsdale in Lancashire and the Isle of Man.[ citation needed ]

In the early period from 1850 the diocese was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Westminster, but a further development was the creation under Pope Pius X on 28 October 1911, of a new Province of Liverpool (also known as the Northern Province).

Location

The archdiocese covers an area of 1,165 km2 (450 sq. mi.) of the west of the County of Lancashire south of the Ribble (West Lancashire and part of South Ribble), parts of Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, the historic Hundreds of West Derby and Leyland and the Isle of Man. The see is in the City of Liverpool, where the archbishop's cathedra or seat is located in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, which was dedicated on 14 May 1967.

The central office building known as the Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation (LACE). The address is LACE, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool, L17 1AA. [2] The main telephone number is 0151 522 1000.

Archdiocesan Statistics 2018

Compiled 3 December 2018

Catholic Population 2017: 441,000
Parishes: 157
Priests (Diocesan & Religious): 190
Houses of Religious Brothers: 5
Convents of Religious Sisters: 54
Permanent Deacons: 97

Catholic Schools & Colleges

Primary Schools: 184
High Schools: 27
Academies: 7
Sixth Form Colleges: 2
Extra-Diocesan: 4
Independent: 4

[3]

Archbishop and Metropolitan

On 21 March 2014 Pope Francis appointed bishop Malcolm McMahon as the ninth archbishop of Liverpool. Bishop McMahon was enthroned as Archbishop of Liverpool on 1 May 2014.

Bishop Thomas Anthony Williams was previously appointed Apostolic Administrator during the sede vacante , until the appointment of a new archbishop, following the resignation of Archbishop Patrick Kelly, with effect from 28 February 2013.

Cathedral Church

The south elevation and main entrance to the Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.jpg
The south elevation and main entrance to the Cathedral

The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral) is a Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, England. It replaced the Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Copperas Hill. The cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of Liverpool, the mother church of Liverpool's Catholics, and the metropolitan church of the Catholic Church's northern province in England.

In 1853 Bishop Goss awarded the commission for the building of a new Catholic cathedral to Edward Welby Pugin (1833–1875), the son of Augustus Welby Pugin, the joint architect of the Houses of Parliament and champion of the Gothic Revival. By 1856 the Lady Chapel of the new cathedral had been completed on a site adjacent to the Catholic Institute on Saint Domingo Road, Everton. Due to financial restrictions work on the building ceased at this point and the Lady Chapel now named Our Lady Immaculate served as parish church to the local Catholic population until its demolition in the 1980s.

Following purchase of the present 9-acre (36,000 m2) site at Brownlow Hill in 1930 Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) was commissioned to provide a design which would be an appropriate response to the Gilbert Scott-designed Neo-gothic Anglican cathedral then emerging at the other end of Hope Street. Lutyens' design would have created a massive classical/Byzantine structure that would have become the second-largest church in the world. It would have had the world's largest dome. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 5 June 1933, but again financial restrictions caused the abandonment of this plan after construction of the crypt.

The new cathedral, designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and consecrated in 1967, was built above the crypt. Its circular plan was conceived in direct response to the Second Vatican Council's requirements for a greater and more intimate integration of the congregation with the clergy.

"Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations " Second Vatican Council 1962-1965

Chapels are built in between the buttresses that support the tent-shaped spire (which represents the crown of thorns of Jesus) like tent poles. A short film, Crown of Glass, documents the construction of the cathedral's rainbow-coloured stained glass windows.

The cathedral stands on the site of the Liverpool Workhouse, on Hope Street. Facing it at the opposite end of Hope Street is the Cathedral Church of Christ, Liverpool's Anglican cathedral. Ironically, Lutyens was an Anglican, while the architect of the Anglican cathedral, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was Catholic.

Ministries

Youth service

Animate Youth Ministries is the youth service for the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The team, based at Lowe House, St Helens, is led by Simon Gore, and consists of a leadership team and a volunteer team all living in community together at Lowe House. Animate Youth Ministries works with school and parish groups on day retreats, mission days and mission weeks, and also holds youth Masses which take place at St Mary's Church, Lowe House, St. Helens. The Liverpool Archdiocesan Youth form an integral part of the annual Liverpool Archdiocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage. As of 2014, the team works with over 9,000 young people each year.[ citation needed ]

Missionary project

The Archdiocese of Liverpool has a long tradition of sending priests to work on the missions in Latin America, in particular Peru, This is known as the Liverpool Archdiocesan Missionary Project or colloquially as LAMP. In 2014, there were two priests involved in ministering to disadvantaged communities in Latin America, namely Simon Cadwallader and Dennis Parry. [4]

Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage

In 1923, the first official archdiocesan pilgrimage set off from Liverpool for Lourdes and continues to the present day, interrupted only by the period of the Second World War. Led by the archbishop or his auxiliary, the week-long pilgrimage normally takes place each year between the end of July and beginning of August. During the week ordinary pilgrims from across the archdiocese meet to participate in services & processions whilst assisted pilgrims are cared for by Liverpool Hospitalité members and helpers from the Archdiocesean Youth Service.

Bishops

List of Ordinaries

Vicar Apostolic of Lancashire District
Roman Catholic Bishops of Liverpool
Roman Catholic Archbishops of Liverpool

Coadjutor Bishops

Auxiliary Bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

William Godfrey

William Godfrey (25 September 1889 - 22 January 1963) was a Roman Catholic bishop, his highest posting was as Archbishop of Westminster. Born in Liverpool, he was educated at Ushaw College and at the Venerable English College, where he was ordained in 1916, during the First World War. He gained his Doctorate the following year. He then taught at Ushaw for 12 years: Classics, Philosophy and Theology. In 1930 he was appointed Rector of the College where during the next eight years he watched Benito Mussolini's rise to power. He was known affectionately to his students despite his strictness as "Uncle Bill." In 1938 he became the first Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, Gibraltar and Malta and he served in this post with such discretion that in 1953, long after the war, he became Archbishop of Liverpool and in 1956 he was appointed as Archbishop of Westminster. He was created Cardinal two years later. He died in London on 22 January 1963, aged 73.

Vincent Nichols

Vincent Gerard Nichols was born in Crosby, Liverpool on 8 November 1945. He entered the Venerable English College (Rome) in 1963 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1969. His further studies include obtaining the Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Manchester, specialising in the theology of John Fisher. After working in the Archdiocese of Liverpool for 14 years, including, latterly, as the Director of the Upholland Northern Institute, Vincent Nichols was appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of England & Wales for nine years. In 1992 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as titular bishop of Abora. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster between 1992 and 2000, having special pastoral oversight for North London. During this time he served under Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He presided over the burial of Cardinal Hume, at the end of his Requiem Mass in 1999. Nichols was appointed the eleventh Archbishop of Westminster by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 April 2009.[ citation needed ] The archdiocese, the primatial see of the Church in England and Wales, serves 472,600 Catholics. On 22 February 2014, Pope Francis admitted Nichols to the Sacred College of Cardinals at a general consistory.

John Rawsthorne

John Rawsthorne (born 12 November 1936) is the previous ordinary of the Diocese of Hallam in the Province of Liverpool. He had previously been a priest and later auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the titular bishop of Rotdon. Bishop Rawsthorne succeeded Bishop Gerald Moverley, the 1st Bishop of Hallam when Bishop Moverley resigned in July 1996. Rawsthorne was selected as the 2nd Bishop of Hallam on 4 June 1997 and was installed on 3 July 1997. The bishop is a keen walker and takes part in a sponsored walk every year to raise money to support St. Wilfrid's Drop-in Day Centre in Sheffield. His retirement took place on 20 May 2014, when it was announced by the Vatican that Pope Francis had appointed Ralph Heskett, Bishop of Gibraltar to succeed Rawsthorne as Bishop of Hallam.

Paul Gallagher

Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, was born in Liverpool and educated at St. Francis Xavier's College in Woolton. Ordained by Archbishop Derek Worlock in 1977, he served in Fazakerley before becoming a member of the Holy See's diplomatic service. Since 1984 he has held posts in Tanzania, Uruguay, the Philippines, the Vatican Secretariat of State in Rome and with the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. From January 2004 to February 2009 he was Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi, then from February 2009 until December 2012 he was Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala when he was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia a post he held until being made Secretary for Relations with States on 8 November 2014 by Pope Francis.

Vincent Malone

Vincent Malone was born in Liverpool on 11 September 1931. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Liverpool archdiocese at St Oswald's, Old Swan, Liverpool on 18 September 1955. He was ordained titular bishop of Abora and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool by Archbishop Derek Worlock on 3 July 1989. It was officially announced on 26 October 2006 that Bishop Vincent Malone would be retiring as auxiliary bishop of Liverpool. In common with all Bishops he was required to submit his letter of retirement to Pope Benedict XVI on reaching the age of 75. He continued to be a vicar general, a member of the archbishop's council and a trustee of the archdiocese. Moreover, although he no longer carried out formal parish visitations, Malone continued to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Vincent Malone died on 18 May 2020, aged 88, at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, after testing positive for COVID-19.

Augustine Harris

Augustine Harris was born in Liverpool and ordained a priest at Upholland College on 30 May 1942 for the Archdiocese of Liverpool. He was ordained titular bishop of Socia and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool by Archbishop George Andrew Beck on 11 February 1966. He translated to the Diocese of Middlesbrough on 20 November 1978 and retired on 3 November 1992. In retirement he lived in Formby and latterly at Ince Blundell Hall, where he died, aged 79.

Related Research Articles

An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese, or is a diocese, archdiocese, eparchy or similar permanent ordinariate that either has no bishop or archbishop or, in very rare cases, has an incapacitated (arch)bishop. The title also applies to an outgoing (arch)bishop while awaiting for the date of assuming his new position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Stafford</span> Catholic cardinal

James Francis Stafford is an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the U.S.

The Archdiocese of Boston is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. The archdiocese is the fourth largest in the United States. As of 2023, the archbishop of Boston is Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley.

<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">Gaudencio Rosales</span> Filipino Cardinal and Archbishop Emeritus of Manila

Gaudencio Borbón Rosales is a Filipino Roman Catholic Cardinal who was Archbishop of Manila, succeeding Jaime Sin in 2003, and succeeded by Luis Antonio Tagle in 2011. Being the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Manila, he was the 31st archbishop of Manila and the fourth native Filipino to hold the post, following centuries of Spanish, American, and Irish prelates. During his last year as archbishop, he was concurrently named apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Pasig from December 21, 2010 to June 23, 2011, a post he accepted after the resignation of Pasig's first bishop, Francisco San Diego.

<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.

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

The Archdiocese of Southwark is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is led by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan Province of Southwark, which covers the South of England. The Southwark archdiocese also makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Texas, USA

The Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction—an archdiocese—of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese covers a portion of Southeast Texas, and is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province covering east-Texas. The archdiocese was erected in 2004, having been a diocese since 1959 and the "Diocese of Galveston" since 1847. It is the second metropolitan see in Texas after the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Worlock</span> English Roman Catholic archbishop

Derek John Harford Worlock CH was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Liverpool.

Dom Ambrose Griffiths was a Benedictine abbot before becoming a Roman Catholic bishop in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Vincent Malone was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

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

The Diocese of Leeds is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church centred on Leeds Cathedral in the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley, which had covered all of Yorkshire. The Diocese of Leeds was made to cover the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, while the Diocese of Middlesbrough took over the diocesan organisation of the rest of Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver is a Roman Catholic Latin archdiocese that includes part of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

John Anthony Rawsthorne is a retired English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Hallam from 1997 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Sri Lanka

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Colombo is a Latin metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church, whose ecclesiastical province covers all Sri Lanka plus the Maldives. It depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Longley</span> Catholic archbishop

Bernard Longley is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was named the Archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009, and installed on 8 December 2009.

Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (1929–1935), as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah in Georgia (1935–1959), as papal regent to Romania (1947–1950), apostolic nuncio to Ireland (1951–1954), and as apostolic delegate to Great Britain (1954–1963).

John Joseph Maguire was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop and as coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Vincent Brennan</span> American prelate of the Catholic Church

Joseph Vincent Brennan is a prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Latin Church Diocese of Fresno in California since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilson (bishop)</span> English prelate

John Wilson is an English prelate of the Catholic Church, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark. He had previously served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Westminster (2016–2019).

References

  1. ↑ Metropolitan Archdiocese of Liverpool
  2. ↑ "Area information for L17 1AA, Liverpool, Merseyside".
  3. ↑ Archdiocese of Liverpool 2018 Directory
  4. ↑ "Liverpool Catholic".

Bibliography

53°24′17″N2°58′07″W / 53.40472°N 2.96861°W / 53.40472; -2.96861

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.