The Diocese of Hexham was revived in 1850 by decree of Pope Pius IX, restoring the Catholic hierarchy to England and Wales. Although the ancient See of Hexham was founded in 678 it had later lapsed. Together with the See of Lindisfarne, founded by Saint Aidan, Hexham formed the main part of the Northumbrian kingdom's ecclesiastical structure. Among the early bishops elected to the see in 684 was Saint Cuthbert, the present-day patron of the modern diocese and, later, Acca of Hexham.[2]
The modern diocese was expanded to include the title of Newcastle in 1861. Originally under the metropolitan See of Westminster, the diocese became part of the new Province of Liverpool (often referred to as the Northern Province) in 1911.
On the restoration of the diocese in 1850, Pius IX appointed Bishop William Hogarth, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, to be the first bishop of the diocese. The Parish Church of Saint Mary, Newcastle upon Tyne, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, was selected as the seat for the new bishop, gaining cathedral status.
In 1924, Pope Pius XI withdrew the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland to incorporate them into a newly created Diocese of Lancaster. For this reason, the Lancaster diocese still considers St Cuthbert as one of its principal patrons. Other territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Liverpool to form the new see.
Present
The modern Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle comprises the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham. In this respect, it comprises three cities: Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Sunderland. In 2005 Bishop Dunn reorganised the structure of the diocese and curia. He introduced five episcopal areas. These areas are arranged geographically and are known as Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, Sunderland and East Durham, South Tyneside, Gateshead and North West Durham, and Cleveland and South Durham.
The diocesan curia and chancery are officially based at Bishop's House, 26 West Avenue, Gosforth, in the north of Newcastle. However, the tribunal and other commissions are actually based at the curial offices at St Vincent's in St Cuthbert's House, West Road.
The diocese was also home to the regional seminary for the north of England, Ushaw College, near Durham. The seminary had strong links with the University of Durham which validated the degree courses offered there. The seminary was governed by the bishops of the Northern Province under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Liverpool. However, as the local ordinary, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle always held the position of Vice-Chairman of Governors.
The diocesan patrons are Our Blessed Lady Immaculate (8 December) and Saint Cuthbert, Bishop and Confessor (20 March).
There are presently 214 diocesan priests (57 of whom are retired) and six permanent deacons serving 183 parishes. A number of religious orders are also present in the diocese, including the Passionists, the Jesuits, the Carmelites, the Poor Clares and the Sisters of Mercy.
Following the death of Bishop Dunn on 1 March 2008, the College of Consultors elected Canon Seamus Cunningham as the Diocesan Administrator. On 9 January 2009 it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed him to be the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He received his episcopal ordination on Friday, 20 March 2009 – the feast day of St. Cuthbert – the diocesan patron.[3]
In February 2019, Robert Byrne was appointed as the 14th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. Three years later, in December 2022, he announced his resignation from the position and returned to the congregation at the Oxford Oratory.[4]
The See of Hexham and Newcastle was sede vacante for a short period following Pope Francis' acceptance of the resignation of Robert Byrne in December of 2022.[5] On 14 June 2023, it was announced that Pope Francis had appointed Stephen Wright to be the 15th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle on 14 June 2023. He was installed in St Mary’s Cathedral on 19 July 2023.[6]
The Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England.
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 Cathedral Church of St Mary is a Catholic cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. The cathedral, situated on Clayton Street, was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and built between 1842 and 1844. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and a fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture championed by Pugin.
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.
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 Archdiocese of Liverpool 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.
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.
The Diocese of Salford is a is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England.
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.
Dom Ambrose Griffiths was a Benedictine abbot before becoming a Roman Catholic bishop in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Hugh Lindsay was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.
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.
The Diocese of Northampton is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in England and Wales and suffragan of Westminster. Its see is in Northampton. The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury is the mother church of the Diocese.
The Right ReverendOwen Francis Swindlehurst was Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and Titular Bishop of Cuncacestre under Bishops Hugh Lindsay and Ambrose Griffiths from 1977 until his death.
Kevin John Dunn was the twelfth Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
Séamus Cunningham is an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in England. He was the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in the north of England from 2009 to 2019.
William Hogarth was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.
James Cunningham was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle from 1958 to 1974.
St Cuthbert's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Durham, England. It was opened on 31 May 1827 to replace two previous chapels, one run by the secular clergy and the other by the Jesuits. It is also the home of the Durham University Catholic Chaplaincy and Catholic Society. From 2012 to 2016 the parish was entrusted, along with the chaplaincy, to the Dominican Order, and its congregation has since maintained the Dominicans' influence. The church is a protected building, being part of the Elvet Green Conservation Area. It is named for St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, the 7th century bishop, healer and patron of Northern England.
Robert Byrne, C.O. is a prelate of the Catholic Church in England. He was the 14th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the titular bishop of Cuncacestre. He is the first Oratorian to be appointed a bishop in England since 1874.
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