Roman Catholic Diocese of Galloway

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Diocese of Galloway

Dioecesis Candidae Casae o Gallovidianus
St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr by Ian Rainey Geograph 6036865.jpg
RC Galloway Diocese Arms.jpg
Coat of arms
Location
CountryFlag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
TerritoryCovers the council areas of Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and mainland North Ayrshire and Cumbrae
Ecclesiastical province St Andrews and Edinburgh
MetropolitanSt Andrews and Edinburgh
Coordinates 55°26′55″N4°37′49″W / 55.44868°N 4.63039°W / 55.44868; -4.63039
Statistics
Area9,332 km2 (3,603 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2019)
520,260
41,353 [1]  (7.9%)
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Established4 March 1878
Cathedral St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Francis Dougan
Metropolitan Archbishop Leo Cushley
Vicar GeneralWilliam McFadden
Website
www.gallowaydiocese.org.uk

The Diocese of Galloway (Latin : Dioecesis Candidae Casae o Gallovidianus) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The pre-Reformation Diocese of Galloway, founded by Ninian in the fifth century, had broken allegiance with Rome in 1560, and disappeared in 1689 in the (official) Church of Scotland but continued in the Episcopal Church of Scotland. The modern Roman Catholic diocese incorporates the local authority areas of Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and parts of North Ayrshire, (Cumbrae). The bishop's cathedra is at St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr.

Contents

The diocese was re-established by the Catholic Church on 4 March 1878, with its cathedral in Dumfries and its territory covering the sparse and rural counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtownshire and parts of Ayrshire. Following the reorganisation of the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1947, parishes to the north of Galloway were transferred to it from Glasgow, creating a significant population centre for the first time around the town of Ayr. In response to this development Bishop McGee moved his residence from Dumfries to Ayr, and following a catastrophic fire at St Andrew's Cathedral in May 1962, it was decided that the Good Shepherd Church, Ayr should also become the diocesan cathedral. [2] The third and present cathedral, following the closure of Good Shepherd Cathedral in May 2007, is St Margaret's Cathedral in Ayr.

The eighth bishop of the diocese was William Nolan, since 2022 the Archbishop of Glasgow.

Bishops

Past and present ordinaries

(The following list is included in, but is not the only part of, post-Reformation bishops in the above-mentioned main article.)
The following is a list of the modern Bishops of Galloway: [3]

Coadjutor Bishop

Parishes

The following is a list of current and former churches within the Diocese of Galloway: [6]

See also

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References

  1. Diocese of Galloway Statistics
  2. "The History of St Andrew's Church" (PDF). standrewsdumfries.org.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  3. "Diocese of Galloway". Catholic-Hierarchy.org . David M. Cheney. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  4. "Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland". www.bcos.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  5. "New Bishop of Galloway to be ordained at Ardrossan church later this year". Cumnock Chronicle. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. "Diocese of Galloway". www.gallowaydiocese.org.uk/parishes/4590439073. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  7. "Scotland's Churches Trust". Scotland's Churches Trust. 24 September 2017.


Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Galloway". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.