The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

of the

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in England. The diocese is a suffragan of the

Archdiocese of Westminster The Catholic Diocese of Westminster is an archdiocese of the Latin Church 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 (in Surrey), and th ...

Overview

The diocese covers the traditional county of Essex, an area of 3,959 km² comprising the non-metropolitan County of Essex, the unitary authorities of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

and

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

, and the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham,

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

, Redbridge and

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

, matching Essex's historic boundaries and the Anglican

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

. The

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

is in the town of Brentwood where the seat is located at the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Church of Saint Mary and Saint Helen. It has 82 parishes, among these 47 parishes are in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

;

(11),

Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames Ga ...

(6), Redbridge (11),

(8),

(11).

History

The diocese was erected on 20 July 1917 from the

. The current bishop is Alan Williams, the seventh Bishop of Brentwood.

Bishops

Past and Present Ordinaries

Bernard Nicholas Ward Bernard Nicholas Ward (4 February 1857 – 21 January 1920) was an English prelate who served in the Roman Catholic Church as the Bishop of Brentwood from 1917 until his death in 1920. He was "a distinguished educationalist and the foremost histor ...

(appointed on 20 July 1917 – died in office on 21 January 1920) *

Arthur Doubleday Arthur Doubleday (16 October 1865 – 23 January 1951) was a South African-born prelate who served in the Roman Catholic Church as the second Bishop of Brentwood from 1920 to 1951. Born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on 16 October 1865, he wa ...

(appointed on 7 May 1920 – died in office on 23 January 1951) *

George Andrew Beck George Andrew Beck (28 May 1904 – 13 September 1978) was an English prelate who served in the Roman Catholic Church as Archbishop of Liverpool from 29 January 1964 to 7 February 1976. Beck was born in Streatham in south London. He w ...

, A.A. (succeeded on 23 January 1951 –

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the

Diocese of Salford The Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford is centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 1911 it has formed part of th ...

on 28 November 1955) * Bernard Patrick Wall (appointed on 30 November 1955 – retired on 14 April 1969) * Patrick Joseph Casey (appointed on 2 December 1969 – resigned on 12 December 1979) * Thomas McMahon (appointed on 16 June 1980 – resigned on 14 April 2014) * Alan Williams (current ordinary, appointed on 14 April 2014)

Coadjutor Bishops

, A.A. (1948-1951)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Hugh Christopher Budd, appointed Bishop of Plymouth in 1985 *

Brian Charles Foley Brian Charles Foley (1910–1999) was an English prelate who served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster from 1962 to 1985. Born in Ilford, Essex on 25 May 1910, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brentwood on 25 July 1937. He was ...

, appointed Bishop of Lancaster in 1962 *

John Carmel Heenan John Carmel Heenan (26 January 1905 – 7 November 1975) was a senior-ranking English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1963 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. Biography E ...

, appointed Bishop of Leeds in 1951; future Cardinal *

John Edward Petit John Edward Petit (22 June 1895 – 2 June 1973) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Menevia from 1947 to 1972. Born in London on 22 June 1895, he was ordained to the priesthood on 9 May 1918. He was appointed the Bishop of t ...

, appointed Bishop of Menevia, Wales in 1947

External links

Diocese of Brentwood website
* {{coord, 51, 37, 10, N, 0, 18, 23, E, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TQ595938), display=title Christian organizations established in 1917 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Brentwood