Greater London boroughs north of the Thames and west of Waltham Forest and Newham, plus the City of London, the districts of Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames, and the county of Hertfordshire.
The diocese essentially covers the same region as the Church of England Diocese of London as it was before the English Reformation until 1850, adopting—like all other dioceses across England (created that year)[5]—an alternative name (originally because of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851) but based on the centuries-old divisions of the country.[6] The diocese effectively survived the period of Catholic oppression in English history as a missionary territory established by canons accepted by Rome in 1622 as the Apostolic Vicariate of England which was in public law pronounced in England and Wales illegal as counter to the established church.
The mostly clandestine apostolic vicariate covering the country was divided so that the Apostolic Vicariate of London District formed on 30 January 1688 coinciding with a degree of freedoms. By decree of Pope Pius IX(Universalis Ecclesiae), this entity gained its elevation to the rank of a metropolitan diocese (instead of archdiocese) on 29 September 1850.
Present
On 3 April 2009, it was announced that the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, would become the 11th Archbishop of Westminster.[7]Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, who was installed as tenth Archbishop of Westminster on 22 March 2000 and was elevated to the rank of cardinal-priest of the title of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva by Pope John Paul II on 21 February 2001, became archbishop emeritus. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor had announced on 9 July 2007 that, in accordance with the age limit of 75 years prescribed for bishops in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, he had submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI, but that the Pope had asked him to continue in his pastoral ministry as archbishop beyond the age limit until further provision was made, as occurred in 2009.
The archbishop is usually assisted by four auxiliary bishops, each with specific areas of responsibility within the administration of the diocese. One of the auxiliary bishops serves as chancellor and moderator of the metropolitan curia; one as vicar for the clergy; one for pastoral affairs; and one for education and formation.
John Larkin, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada in 1832 and Bishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1849; neither took effect; became a Jesuit in 1840
William Gordon Wheeler, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Middlesbrough in 1964, later Bishop, of Leeds in 1966
Mark O'Toole, appointed Bishop of Plymouth in 2013
Liturgical and pastoral life
Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.The seat of the Archbishop of Westminster in 2024. The coat of arms of the incumbent Cardinal Vincent Nichols is placed above.
Liturgy in the diocese is primarily based around the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, now in its third edition. However, as might be expected from a city as cosmopolitan as London, there is a great diversity in the liturgy as celebrated by Catholics. The Latin Mass Society celebrates the liturgy according to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. The Ukrainian Greek Catholics have a strong presence in the diocese with their own cathedral in Binney Street close to Bond Street. There is a Lebanese Maronite community based at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Cirencester Street in West London; a Melkite community in Pimlico, at St Barnabas' Church of England church; an Ethiopian Catholic church, Our Lady Queen of Heaven, in Queensway West London; an Eritrean Catholic Church, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, in East Acton; a Chaldean Catholic church, St Anne's, in Laxton Place; and a Belarusian Catholic church in Holden Avenue in North London. There are also a large number of Masses for the expatriate Polish community; as well as dedicated French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish language churches. There are also ethnic chaplaincies serving Catholics from Africa, Albania, Brazil, the Caribbean, China, Croatia, the Philippines, India, Hungary, Ireland, Korea, Latin America, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Czechia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Traveller, Gypsy and Roma communities, and Vietnam.[8]
Religious communities of women include the Carmelites at Golders Green and Ware; the Poor Clares in Barnet; the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories at the cathedral; the Ursulines of Jesus at Hoxton, Kingsland and Stamford Hill; the Dominicans at Bushey, Cricklewood, Ealing, Edgware, Harpenden, Harrow on the Hill, Haverstock Hill, Hemel Hempstead, Osterley, Stevenage and Pinner. The Institute of the BVM is located in Swiss Cottage, Acton, Osterley, Redbourn and St Albans. The Sisters of Mercy are located at the cathedral, Acton East, Bethnal Green, Bow, Clapton Park, Commercial Road, Cricklewood, Feltham, Hampton Hill, Hillingdon, Kensal, Newtown, Marylebone Road, St Albans, St John's Wood, Twickenham and Underwood Road. The Servants of the Mother of God at Bayswater, Hampton and Somers Town.
The diocese is involved in both the independent and state school sectors. Some 159 state and 10 independent primary schools are in the diocese along with 42 state and 4 independent secondary schools. There are also a further five independent primary / secondary and special schools including the Choristers school attached to the cathedral.
Music in the diocese is as diverse as the communities represented in it, but the all-male cathedral choir is reputedly one of the best in the country[9][10] and sings at all chief Masses in the cathedral as well as the daily divine offices. There are several choirs that specialise in Gregorian Chant and a Charismatic group centred on the diocesan seminary at Allen Hall.
↑ "As ordinary of the Diocese of Westminster his jurisdiction extends over much the same area as that of the Bishop of London. As chief metropolitan, he occupies a position similar to that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England" (Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Westminster". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.). (At the bottom of the article, the first source listed is "Archives of the Diocese of Westminster.) Retrieved 2017-06-14. "By the grant in the Apostolic Constitution of 'certain new distinctions of preeminence', for the preservation of unity in government and policy, to the archbishop of Westminster for the time being, comprised under the following three heads: He will be permanent chairman of the meetings of the Bishops of all England and Wales, and for this reason it will be for him to summon these meetings and to preside over them, according to the rules in force in Italy and elsewhere. (2) He will take rank above the other two Archbishops, and will throughout all England and Wales enjoy the privilege of wearing the Pallium, of occupying the throne, and of having the cross borne before him. (3) Lastly, in all dealings with the Supreme Civil Authority, he will in his person represent the entire Episcopate of England and Wales. Always, however, he is to take the opinion of all the Bishops, and to be guided by the votes of the major part of them'. Thus, though the Archbishop of Westminster was vested with more powers and privileges than primates usually enjoy, unity of action has been safeguarded" (Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Reorganization of the English Hierarchy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.).
↑ The Anglican Diocese of Liverpool was not created until 1880, thirty years after the Roman Catholic Diocese (now Archdiocese) of Liverpool was established.
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. All previous archbishops of Westminster have become cardinals. Although all the bishops of the restored diocesan episcopacy took new titles, like that of Westminster, they saw themselves in continuity with the pre-Reformation Church and post-Reformation vicars apostolic and titular bishops. Westminster, in particular, saw itself as the continuity of Canterbury, hence the similarity of the coats of arms of the two sees, with Westminster believing it has more right to it since it features the pallium, a distinctly Catholic symbol of communion with the Holy See.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton is a diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey. The diocese was erected on 28 May 1965 by Pope Paul VI, having previously been a part of the larger Diocese of Southwark, which was elevated to an archdiocese with a new ecclesiastical province on the same date.
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.
Vincent Gerard Nichols is a Roman Catholic British prelate who has served as Archbishop of Westminster since 2009. He was the former Archbishop of Birmingham from 2000 to 2009 and is the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was elevated into the Cardinalship in 22 February 2014.
The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the 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, when its former area was replaced by the episcopal sees of Westminster and Southwark.
The Archbishop of Southwark is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark. As such, he is the Metropolitan of the Province of Southwark.
The Archbishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and metropolitan of the Province of Liverpool in England.
The Diocese of Plymouth is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England. The episcopal see is in the city of Plymouth, Devon, where the bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface.
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 Archdiocese of Sydney is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The Archdiocese of Port Moresby is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea. Its cathedral is in St. Mary's Cathedral, in Port Moresby, National Capital District.
The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, centred on St Mary's Cathedral in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. The diocese is one of the six suffragan sees in the ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool and covers the historic boundaries of County Durham and Northumberland.
Charles Phillip Richard Moth is a British Roman Catholic prelate. Since May 2015, he has served as the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. Previously, he was Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Southwark from 2001 to 2009, and the Bishop of the Forces from 2009 to 2015.
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).
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