The Catholic dioceses in Great Britain are organised by two separate hierarchies: the

Catholic Church in England and Wales The Catholic Church in England and Wales ( la, Ecclesia Catholica in Anglia et Cambria; cy, Yr Eglwys Gatholig yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th c ...

, and the

Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. After being firmly established in Scotland for nearly a millennium, the Catholic Church was outlawed f ...

. Within

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, the Catholic Church of England and Wales has five

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, subdivided into 22

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 associ ...

s, and the Catholic Church of Scotland has two provinces, subdivided into 8 dioceses. The Catholic dioceses in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

are organised together with those in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

, as the Church in Ireland was not divided when civil authority in Ireland was partitioned in the 1920s. A

, also known as a bishopric, is an administrative unit under the supervision of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. The Diocese of Westminster is considered the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

of English and Welsh Catholics, and although not formally a

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

, the

archbishop of Westminster 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 presid ...

is usually elected President of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Overview The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishop ...

providing a degree of a formal direction for the other English bishops and archbishops. From the time of the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

in the 16th century, with Catholicism being declared illegal, there were no Catholic dioceses in England and Wales. In time, there came to be appointed several apostolic vicars, bishops of titular sees governing not in their own name, as diocesan bishops do, but provisionally in the name of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. However, with the passing of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, legalising the practice of the Catholic faith again,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

re-established the Catholic Church diocesan hierarchy on 29 September 1850 by issuing the bull '' Universalis Ecclesiae''. The Hierarchy in Scotland was restored in 1878. Three Catholic dioceses, those of Leeds, Liverpool, and Portsmouth, share their territorial name with

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

dioceses, the

Anglican Diocese of Leeds The Anglican Diocese of LeedsDio ...

, the Anglican diocese of Liverpool, and the

Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth The Diocese of Portsmouth is an administrative division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The see is based in the City of Portsmouth in Hampshire, where ...

respectively. However, in these cases the dioceses cover differing areas. The

comprises two Latin

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

s each headed by a

Metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

. The provinces in turn are subdivided into 6

s and 2

archdiocese 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 associat ...

s, each headed by a

or an

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, respectively. There is an Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain as papal diplomatic representation (embassy-level) to the British authorities (UK)

Current Latin provinces and sees in Great Britain

Episcopal Conference of England and Wales

Ecclesiastical province of Birmingham (founded 1911)

Ecclesiastical province of Cardiff (founded 1916)

Ecclesiastical province of Liverpool (founded 1911)

Ecclesiastical province of Southwark (founded 1965)

Ecclesiastical province of Westminster (founded 1850)

Episcopal conference of Scotland

Ecclesiastical province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh (cathedral St Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh; established 1878) ** Diocese of Aberdeen (cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen The Cathedral Church of St Mary of the Assumption, usually known as St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the home of the see of the Bishop of Aberdeen, who is the ordinary of ...

; established 1878) ** Diocese of Argyll and the Isles (cathedral St Columba's Cathedral, Oban; established 1878; originally in the Province of Glasgow) **

Diocese of Dunkeld The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689. History It is thought that the diocese was constituted as far back as the middle of the ninth century. The first occupant ...

(cathedral

St Andrew's Cathedral, Dundee The Cathedral Church of St Andrew is a Catholic cathedral in the West End of the city of Dundee, Scotland. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Dunkeld and mother church of the Diocese of Dunkeld within the Province of St Andrews and Ed ...

; established 1878) **

Diocese of Galloway The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral. In the Middle Ages, there was only one archde ...

(cathedral

St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr The Cathedral Church of Saint Margaret, also known as Ayr Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Ayr, Scotland. It is the seat of the Bishop of Galloway, and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galloway. St Margaret ...

; established 1878; originally in the Province of Glasgow)

Ecclesiastical province of Glasgow

* Metropolitan Archdiocese of Glasgow (cathedral St Andrew's Cathedral, Glasgow; established 1878) **

Diocese of Motherwell The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell ( la, Dioecesis Matrisfontis, links=no) is an ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 by Pope Pius XII from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, a ...

(cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady of Good Aid, Motherwell; established 1947) **

Diocese of Paisley The Diocese of Paisley ( la, Dioecesis Pasletana) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the diocese covers the historic county of ...

(cathedral St Mirin's Cathedral, Paisley; established 1947)

Eastern Catholic and other exempt

* The

Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain The Bishopric of the Forces (in Great Britain) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church which provides chaplains to the British Armed Forces based in the United Kingdom and their overseas postings. It is directly exempt ...

(1917) is the

Military Ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...

for all British armed forces, even outside the UK *The

Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain The Eparchy of Great Britain is the sole Syro-Malabar Catholic Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Great Britain. Its cathedral is Syro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa in the episcopal see of Preston, Lanca ...

(2016) * The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London (1957) The

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

are autonomous, self-governing particular churches in full communion with the

. * The

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales is a personal ordinariate in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church immediately exempt, being directly subject to the Holy See. It is within the territory of the Catholic B ...

(2011) is one of three

Personal Ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." i ...

s. The ordinariates were established in order to enable "groups of Anglicans"Note: The Latin title of ''Anglicanorum Coetibus'' means "Groups of Anglicans". to join the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. Personal Ordinariates are headed by Ordinaries.

Defunct jurisdictions

Archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

of England from 1598 to 1621. * Apostolic Vicariate of England from 1623 to 1688 when it was divided into four districts that lasted until a general redivision in 1840: :*

Apostolic Vicariate of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London 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 was created in 1688 and was diss ...

until 1850 :* Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District until 1850 :*

Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar (or vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. Th ...

until 1840 :* Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District until 1850 ::*

Apostolic Vicariate of the Welsh District The Roman Catholic Diocese of Newport (and Menevia) was the Latin Catholic precursor (1840-1916) in Wales and southwest England of the present Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff, with see in Newport, Wales, and was revived as Latin titular see. ...

created from Western District in 1840 until 1850 ::*

Apostolic Vicariate of the Central District The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar (or vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. Th ...

created from Midland District in 1840 until 1850 ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Eastern District created from Midland District in 1840 until 1850 ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Lancashire District created from the Northern District in 1840 until 1850 ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Yorkshire District created from the Northern District in 1840 until 1850 * Diocese of Beverley, from 1850 to 1878, replaced by the Diocese of Leeds and the Diocese of Middlesbrough. *

Diocese of Newport and Menevia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Newport (and Menevia) was the Latin Catholic precursor (1840-1916) in Wales and southwest England of the present Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff, with see in Newport, Wales, and was revived as Latin titular see. ...

, from 1850 to 1895, replaced by the Diocese of Newport, which became the Archdiocese of Cardiff in 1916, and the

Apostolic Vicariate of Wales The Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It is one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff. History On 12 May 1898, the Apos ...

, which became the

Diocese of Menevia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It is one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and is subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff. History On 12 May 1898, the Apos ...

in 1898. * Prefecture Apostolic of Scotland from 1653 to 1694. * Apostolic Vicariate of Scotland from 1694 to 1727 when it split into two districts that lasted until 1827: :* Apostolic Vicariate of the Lowland District :* Apostolic Vicariate of the Highland District ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Eastern District from 1827 to 1878 when it became the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District from 1827 to 1878 when it became the Archdiocese of Glasgow ::* Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District from 1827 to 1878 when it became the Diocese of Aberdeen.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - England and Wales

; Scotland

{{Catholic dioceses in England and Wales

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in the United Kingdom Catholic dioceses