The Archdiocese of Westminster (Latin: Archdioecesis Vestmonasteriensis) is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Although a metropolitan archdiocese governed by an archbishop, it is usually referred to as the Diocese of Westminster. The archdiocese covers the historic counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
The diocese is led by the Archbishop of Westminster, who serves as pastor of Westminster Cathedral, as well as the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Westminster. Since the re-establishment of the English Catholic dioceses in 1850, each archbishop of Westminster—including the most recent, Cardinal Vincent Nichols—has been created a cardinal by the pope in consistory, often as the only cardinal in England, and is now the 43rd of English cardinals since the 12th century. It is also customary for the metropolitan archbishop of Westminster to be selected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales providing a degree of a formal direction for the other English bishops and archbishops. Though not formally a primate, he has special privileges conferred by the papal bull Si qua est. The metropolitan archbishop of Westminster has not been granted the title of Primate of England and Wales, which is sometimes applied to him, but his position has been described as that of "chief metropolitan" of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and as "similar to" that of the archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England (as the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury). The diocese is one of the smallest dioceses in England and Wales in geographical area, but the largest in terms of Catholic population and priests.
The suffragan sees of Westminster are the dioceses of Brentwood, East Anglia, Northampton, and Nottingham.
Contents
History
The archdiocese 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)—an alternative name (originally because of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851) but based on the centuries-old divisions of the country. 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. 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.
The metropolitan curia and chancery offices are located at Vaughan House, outside Westminster Cathedral in central London. The diocesan seminary, Allen Hall, is located in Chelsea, West London, and (with Ushaw College) is a direct descendant of the seminary of Douai College, France.
The Diocese is a registered charity No. 233699.
Bishops
Ordinaries
William Bishop (1623–1624)
Richard Smith (1624–1632)
John Leyburn (1685–1688); see below
John Leyburn (1688–1702); see above
Bonaventure Giffard (1703–1734)
Benjamin Petre (1734–1758)
Richard Challoner (1758–1781)
James Robert Talbot (1781–1790)
John Douglass (1790–1812)
William Poynter (1812–1827)
James Yorke Bramston (1827–1836)
Thomas Griffiths (1836–1847)
Thomas Walsh (1848–1849)
Nicholas Wiseman (1849–1850): see below; future Cardinal
Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1850–1865): see above
Cardinal Henry Manning (1865–1892)
Cardinal Herbert Vaughan (1892–1903)
Cardinal Francis Bourne (1903–1935)
Cardinal Arthur Hinsley (1935–1943)
Cardinal Bernard Griffin (1943–1956)
Cardinal William Godfrey (1956–1963)
Cardinal John Carmel Heenan (1963–1976)
Coadjutor Vicars Apostolic
James Yorke Bramston (1823–1827)
Richard Challoner (1739–1758)
Robert Gradwell (1828–1833), did not succeed to see
Thomas Griffiths (1833–1836)
Henry Howard (1720), did not take effect
Benjamin Petre (1721–1734)
William Poynter (1803–1812)
James Robert Talbot (1759–1781)
Coadjutor Archbishops
George Errington (1855–1860), did not succeed to see
Edward Myers (1951–1956), did not succeed to see
Auxiliary Bishops
William Weathers (1872–1895)
James Laird Patterson (1880–1902)
Robert Brindle (1899–1901), appointed Bishop of Nottingham
Algernon Charles Stanley (1903–1928)
Patrick Fenton (1904–1918)
William Anthony Johnson (1906–1909)
Joseph Butt (1911–1938)
Emmanuel John Bidwell (1917–1930)
Edward Myers (1932-–1951), appointed Coadjutor here
David James Mathew (1938–1946), appointed apostolic delegate and titular archbishop
George Laurence Craven (1947–1967)
David John Cashman (1958–1965), appointed Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
Patrick Joseph Casey (1965–1969), appointed Bishop of Brentwood
Basil Butler (1966–1986)
Gerald Thomas Mahon (1970–1992)
Victor Guazzelli (1970–1996)
David Konstant (1977–1985), appointed Bishop of Leeds
Philip James Benedict Harvey (1977–1990)
James Joseph O'Brien (1977–2005)
John Patrick Crowley (1986–1992), appointed Bishop of Middlesbrough
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
Bonaventure Giffard, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Western District in 1688; later returned here as Vicar Apostolic
James Smith, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1688
John Talbot Stonor, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1715
Francis Petre, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1750
Thomas Joseph Talbot, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1766
William Walton, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Northern District in 1770
Charles Berington, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1786
John Vertue (Virtue), appointed Bishop of Portsmouth in 1882
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
Charles Michael Baggs, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Western District in 1844
Thomas Grant, appointed Bishop of Southwark in 1851
John Baptist Butt, appointed auxiliary bishop of Southwark in 1884
Henry O'Callaghan, appointed Bishop of Hexham and New Castle in 1887
Liturgical and pastoral life
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.
The diocese is also responsible for many institutional chaplaincies, including Heathrow Airport, hospitals and prisons. See St. George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport for more information about the Heathrow Airport Latin-Church Catholic chaplaincy.
There are a large number of religious communities in the diocese. Religious orders of men include: the Assumptionists at Bethnal Green, Hitchin and Burnt Oak; the Augustinians at Hammersmith and Hoxton; the Augustinian Recollects at Kensal New Town, Kensington and Wembley; the Benedictines at Ealing Abbey and Cockfosters; the Carmelites at Finchley East; Discalced Carmelites at Kensington; the Christian Brothers at Twickenham; the missionary Columban Fathers at Hampstead; the Dominicans at Haverstock Hill; the Franciscans at Pimlico; the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Westminster; the Holy Ghost Fathers at New Barnett and Northwood; and the Passionists at Highgate. The Jesuits have a large presence in London with communities in Mayfair (at Farm Street), Southall, Stamford Hill and Swiss Cottage. The Oratorians are based at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kensington, which is popularly known as the Brompton Oratory and is the largest church in the diocese after Westminster Cathedral.