Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh

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Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh

Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis
St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral Edinburgh 2.JPG
Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edinburgh.svg
Coat of arms
Location
CountryFlag of Scotland.svg Scotland
TerritoryCity of Edinburgh and the council areas of Clackmannanshire, part of Fife, Falkirk, West, Mid and East Lothian, and the Scottish Borders
Ecclesiastical province St Andrews and Edinburgh
Coordinates 56°11′20″N3°37′52″W / 56.189°N 3.631°W / 56.189; -3.631
Statistics
Area5,504 km2 (2,125 sq mi)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2020)
  • 1,595,000
  • 122,280 (7.7%)
Parishes109
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established4 March 1878
Cathedral St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh
Secular priests 76
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Archbishop Leo Cushley
Vicar GeneralPatrick Burke [1]
Allan Chambers
Map
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland.jpg
Website
Official website

The Archdiocese of Saint Andrews & Edinburgh (Latin : Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It is the metropolitan see of the province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, consisting of the additional suffragan sees of Aberdeen, Argyll and the Isles, Dunkeld, and Galloway. The archdiocese is led by Archbishop Leo Cushley, and its cathedral is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. [2]

Contents

History

After the Scottish Reformation, the Catholic Church abandoned the ancient dioceses and hierarchy. In 1653, the whole of Scotland became under the authority the Prefecture Apostolic of Scotland, which in 1694 was elevated to the Vicariate Apostolic of Scotland. [3]

On 23 July 1727, Scotland was divided into two Vicariates Apostolic, the Lowland District and Highland District. The Lowland District comprised roughly the Scottish Lowlands. [3]

On 13 February 1827, Scotland was divided again into three Vicariate Apostolics, the Eastern District (formerly the Lowland District), the Northern District (formerly the Highland District), and the Western District (created from territory of the other two districts). [3]

The Eastern District comprised the sixteen eastern historic counties of Perthshire, Angus, Kincardineshire, Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire, Kinross, Fife, West Lothian, Mid Lothian, East Lothian, Peebleshire, Selkirkshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfrieshire, Roxburghshire, and Berwickshire.

Following the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy by Pope Leo XIII on 15 March 1878, part of the Eastern District was elevated to the status of an archdiocese with the title St Andrews & Edinburgh. [3]

In Lent 2015, Archbishop Cushley outlined his vision for the future of the archdiocese in a pastoral letter entitled "We Have Found the Messiah". The document stated aim was to "respond to the mission entrusted to him [Archbishop Cushley] by Pope Francis: to bring the joy of the Gospel to contemporary society."

Following the publication of the letter, Archbishop Cushley embarked upon 32 public meetings across the Archdiocese to discuss his vision which includes the possibility of creating larger parish units through either mergers or closures.

The archdiocese controls the Mount Vernon Cemetery. In 2017 the former superintendent of the cemetery was convicted of mis-selling burial plots for 9 years, for example by re-selling used plots, defrauding the archdiocese and families. [4]

Office holders

Prefecture Apostolic of Scotland. [3]
Vicariate Apostolic of Scotland. [3]
Vicariate Apostolic of the Lowland District. [3]
Vicariate Apostolic of the Eastern District. [3]
Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. [3]

Coadjutor Vicars Apostolic

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

References

  1. "Burke to be Edinburgh vicar general". The Tablet . UK. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  2. Archbishop urges faithful to resist pessimism ahead of parish closures
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh". Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  4. Sawer, Patrick (31 August 2017). "Cemetery manager buried the dead on top of each other in £14k fraud campaign". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. "Cardinal Keith O'Brien resigns, will not go to conclave". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 25 February 2013.