The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the

Roman 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 ce ...

. It was led by a

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

who was a

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

. The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was created in 1688 and was dissolved in 1850 and replaced by two dioceses.

History

Background

Soon after the accession of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, the bishops of England were forced to choose between taking the Oath of Supremacy, thus denying the authority 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 ...

, or losing their episcopal sees. Those who chose to continue their allegiance to Rome were subsequently deposed and replaced in their sees by priests of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Most of the deposed Bishops were imprisoned in various locations and died in captivity over a period of years, though some left the country and continued their work overseas. The last of the deposed bishops was

Thomas Goldwell Thomas Goldwell (15013 April 1585) was an English Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Saint Asaph, the last of those Catholic bishops who had refused to accept the English Reformation. Life Thomas Goldwell was the son of William Goldwell of Great ...

, Bishop of St Asaph, who died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 3 April 1585.

Restoration: The Vicar Apostolic of England

In 1623, Pope Urban VIII decided once again to provide a bishop with jurisdiction in England. So it was that Dr William Bishop was appointed, with the title of

Vicar Apostolic of England The Apostolic Vicariate of England (and Wales) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic (or apostolic vicar) who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was creat ...

. He died shortly afterwards and was succeeded by Dr Richard Smith, who in August 1631 was forced to resign and fled to France. The office then remained vacant until its revival in 1685 with the appointment of Dr

John Leyburn John Leyburn (1615 – 20 June, 1702) was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of England from 1685 to 1688 and then when it was divided served as the Vicar Apostolic of the London District from 1688 to 1702. He wa ...

as bishop.

Geographical Organisation

In 1623 the first Apostolic Vicar, Dr Bishop, divided England into six areas and placed a superior at the head of each with the title of

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

. This structure remained in place until Dr Leyburn reduced the number from six to four. It was on the basis of these four areas that on 30 January 1688 Pope Innocent XI increased the number of (titular) bishops in England to four. The territory of the former single Apostolic Vicariate was thereby reduced, becoming the Apostolic Vicariate of the London District. So it was that the Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was created, along with the Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District and the Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District.

Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District

The Western District consisted of the English historic counties of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, and all of the Welsh historic counties. The first vicar apostolic of the Western District, with effect from 30 January 1688, was Bishop Philip Michael Ellis OSB, who resigned in 1705. He should have been succeeded by Andrew Giffard (brother of

Bonaventure Giffard Bonaventure Giffard (1642–1734) was a Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District of England from 1687 to 1703 and Vicar Apostolic of the London District of England from 1703 to 1734. Life He was the second ...

), however, he refused to accept the appointment. The next vicar apostolic in 1713, after an interregnum, was Matthew Pritchard O.F.M. In 1840, a general redivision of the vicariates took effect.

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

formed the new Apostolic Vicariate of the Welsh District, and thenceforth the Western District consisted of the English counties in the south west only. Despite this last subdivision and intermittent persecution, an Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District existed until 29 September 1850 when Pope Pius IX issued the Bull ''

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 ...

'', by which thirteen new dioceses which did not formally claim any continuity with the pre-Elizabethan English dioceses were created, commonly known as the

restoration of the English hierarchy 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 ...

. Among them was the diocese of Clifton, which along with the new Diocese of Plymouth was formed from the territory of the former Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District.

Legacy - Dioceses of Clifton and Plymouth

Given that the Apostolic Vicars resided chiefly at Bath in

, it was fitting that the last vicar apostolic of the Western District, Dr Joseph William Hendren (1791–1866), consecrated in 1848, should become the first Bishop of Clifton. Thus the new Clifton diocese was in continuity with the old vicariate. In the early period from 1850 the Clifton diocese was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, but a further development was the creation under Pope Pius X, on 28 October 1911, of a new Province of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, to which Clifton then was transferred. The archives of the Western District, one of the most important sources of information for the history of the Church in England from 1780 to 1850 are deposited in the archives of the diocese of Clifton. The other half of the apostolic vicariate became the Diocese of Plymouth.

List of the Vicars Apostolic of the Western District

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Western District (England and Wales), Apostolic Vicariate History of Catholicism in England Apostolic vicariates Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe Apostolic vicariates in England and Wales