The Bishopric of the Forces (in Great Britain) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

which provides

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intel ...

to the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

based in the United Kingdom and their overseas postings. It is directly exempt to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

and its Roman Congregation for Bishops and is not part of any

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 ...

, whilst being a full member 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 ...

. The chaplains (padres) are drawn from the dioceses of England,

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Ireland and the Commonwealth, as well as from some

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious pract ...

s. Chaplains have spiritual and pastoral care of military personnel and their families. Until 1986, they were called "military vicariates" and had a status similar to that of apostolic vicariates which are headed by a bishop who receives his authority by delegation from the Pope. The apostolic constitution Spirituali Militum Curae of 21 April 1986 raised their status, declaring that the bishop who heads one of them is an "ordinary", holding authority by virtue of his office, and not by delegation from another person in authority. There is sometimes confusion between the holder of this Catholic post and the

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 ...

Bishop to the Forces The Anglican church in the British Armed Forces falls under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury; however, for all practical purposes the function is performed by the Bishop to the Forces. His full title is "The Archbishop of Canterbur ...

": for this reason the former is normally referred to as "the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces".

Offices and statistics

The current Bishop of the Forces is the Rt Rev Paul Mason, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 9 July 2018. The Vicar General of the Bishopric and Dean of the Military Cathedral is Father Nick Gosnell. The

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the Bishopric of the Forces is Rev. Neil Galloway. The diocesan office and the episcopal see, the Cathedral of St Michael and St George (dedicated to traditional

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s of chivalry and military), are located on Queens Avenue,

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

, Hampshire, England. it has 25 priests (23 diocesan, two religious), two deacons and two lay religious brothers.

History

From 1917, individual titular bishops were appointed, twice, as Roman Catholic Bishops of the Forces. On 21 November 1953, a permanent

Military Vicariate 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 ...

of Great Britain was established, still always held by titular bishops. On 21 July 1986, it was promoted as

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 ...

of Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain, with its own Ordinary.

List of office holders

References

Spirituali militum curae (21 aprile 1986) , Giovanni Paolo II

Sources and external links

*

{{authority control British military appointments Roman Catholic dioceses in the United Kingdom Catholic Church in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

* Christian organizations established in 1954

Offices and statistics

History

List of office holders

See also

References

Sources and external links