Archdiocese of Westminster

Historical Details

• Vicariate Apostolic of England (and Wales)
  • Erected: 1622
  • Country: England
  • Region: Great Britain

• Vicariate Apostolic of London District
  • Name Changed: 30 January 1688
  • Country: England
  • Region: Great Britain
  • Description: Counties of Kent, Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

Past and Present Ordinaries

• William Bishop † (15 Mar 1623 Appointed - 13 Apr 1624 Died)
• Richard Smith † (29 Nov 1624 Appointed - 1632 Resigned)
• John Leyburn † (24 Aug 1685 Appointed - 20 Jun 1702 Died)
• Bonaventure Joseph Giffard † (14 Mar 1703 Appointed - 22 Mar 1734 Died)
• Benjamin Petre, O.S.B. † (12 Mar 1734 Succeeded - 22 Dec 1758 Died)
• Richard Challoner † (22 Sep 1758 Succeeded - 12 Jan 1781 Died)
• James Robert Talbot † (12 Jan 1781 Succeeded - 24 Jan 1790 Died)
• John Douglass † (10 Sep 1790 Appointed - 8 May 1812 Died)
• William Poynter † (8 May 1812 Succeeded - 26 Nov 1827 Died)
• James Yorke Bramston † (26 Nov 1827 Succeeded - 11 Jul 1836 Died)
• Thomas Griffiths † (11 Jul 1836 Succeeded - 12 Aug 1847 Died)
• Thomas Walsh † (17 Jul 1848 Appointed - 18 Feb 1849 Died)
• Nicholas Patrick Stephen (Nicolás Patricio Esteban) Wiseman † (18 Feb 1849 Succeeded - 15 Feb 1865 Died)
• Henry Edward Manning † (16 May 1865 Appointed - 14 Jan 1892 Died)
• Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan † (8 Apr 1892 Appointed - 19 Jun 1903 Died)
• Francis Alphonsus Bourne † (11 Sep 1903 Appointed - 1 Jan 1935 Died)
• Arthur Hinsley † (1 Apr 1935 Appointed - 17 Mar 1943 Died)
• Bernard William Griffin † (18 Dec 1943 Appointed - 19 Aug 1956 Died)
• William Godfrey † (3 Dec 1956 Appointed - 22 Jan 1963 Died)
• John Carmel Heenan † (2 Sep 1963 Appointed - 7 Nov 1975 Died)
• George Basil Hume, O.S.B. † (9 Feb 1976 Appointed - 17 Jun 1999 Died)
• Cormac Murphy-O’Connor † (15 Feb 2000 Appointed - 3 Apr 2009 Retired)
• Vincent Gerard Nichols (3 Apr 2009 Appointed - )

Historical Summary

Statistics

Year	Catholics	Total Population	Percent Catholic	Diocesan Priests	Religious Priests	Total Priests	Catholics Per Priest	Permanent Deacons	Male Religious	Female Religious	Parishes	Source
Archdiocese of Westminster
1949	315,000	4,518,489	7.0%	431	276	707	445		370	2,500	164	ap1951
1970	484,680	4,491,760	10.8%	431		431	1,124				208	ap1971
1980	476,378	4,468,400	10.7%	303	472	775	614	6	472		216	ap1981
1990	449,191	4,520,000	9.9%	394	444	838	536	5	586	1,842	215	ap1991
1999	460,000	4,415,000	10.4%	378	392	770	597	4	507	1,394	213	ap2000
2000	501,895	4,435,000	11.3%	416	384	800	627	4	589	1,396	214	ap2001
2001	501,900	4,435,000	11.3%	370	401	771	650	4	592	1,322	214	ap2002
2002	462,072	4,435,000	10.4%	363	403	766	603	4	588	1,310	214	ap2003
2003	430,000	4,420,000	9.7%	348	405	753	571	4	570	1,201	214	ap2004
2004	465,587	4,613,284	10.1%	345	398	743	626	4	552	1,194	214	ap2005
2010	476,647	4,726,206	10.1%	366	263	629	757	10	356	1,109	216	ap2011
2014	488,500	4,863,000	10.0%	353	250	603	810	16	328	959	217	ap2015
2017	439,740	4,914,400	8.9%	298	253	551	798	17	286	550	214	ap2018
2020	444,350	4,966,900	8.9%	283	212	495	897	31	238	505	210	ap2021
2022	448,356	5,013,875	8.9%	280	208	488	918	36	231	465	210	ap2023
2023	450,240	5,033,930	8.9%	276	208	484	930	36	231	445	208	ap2024

Note: Any changes in boundaries over time are not indicated in the above table.

Affiliated Bishops, Living

• Helen Alford, O. P.
• Hugh David Renwick Turnbull Allan, O. Praem.
• John Stanley Kenneth Arnold (Priest: 16 Jul 1983; Auxiliary Bishop: 6 Dec 2005 to 30 Sep 2014)
• Peter Malcolm Brignall
• John Patrick Crowley (Priest: 12 Jun 1965; Auxiliary Bishop: 31 Oct 1986 to 3 Nov 1992)
• James Paul Curry (Priest: 17 May 1986; Auxiliary Bishop: 22 Apr 2024)
• Patrick James Dunn
• Wojciech Giertych, O.P.
• Alan Stephen Hopes (Priest: 4 Dec 1995; Auxiliary Bishop: 4 Jan 2003 to 11 Jun 2013)
• Nicholas Gilbert Erskine Hudson (Auxiliary Bishop: 31 Mar 2014 to 21 Oct 2025)
• Bernard Longley (Auxiliary Bishop: 4 Jan 2003 to 1 Oct 2009)
• Paul McAleenan (Priest: 8 Jun 1985; Auxiliary Bishop: 24 Nov 2015)
• Vincent Gerard Nichols (Auxiliary Bishop: 5 Nov 1991 to 15 Feb 2000; Archbishop: 3 Apr 2009 - )
• Mark Anthony O’Toole (Priest: 9 Jun 1990 to 9 Nov 2013)
• Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, O.P.
• Arthur Roche (Auxiliary Bishop: 12 Apr 2001 to 16 Jul 2002)
• John Francis Sherrington (Auxiliary Bishop: 30 Jun 2011 to 5 Apr 2025)
• George Stack (Priest: 21 May 1972; Auxiliary Bishop: 12 Apr 2001 to 19 Apr 2011)
• David Arthur Waller
• John Wilson (Auxiliary Bishop: 24 Nov 2015 to 10 Jun 2019)

  ---

Affiliated Bishops, Deceased

• Mervyn Alban Alexander †
• William Allen †
• Guy-Louis-Jean-Marie Alouvry †
• Francis Kerril Amherst †
• Peter Emmanuel Amigo † (Priest: 25 Feb 1888 to 12 Mar 1904)
• Charles Michael Baggs † (Deacon: Nov 1830; Priest: 5 Dec 1830 to 9 Jan 1844)
• Edward Gilpin Bagshawe, C.O. †
• James Bellord †
• Charles Berington † (Priest: 1775 to 2 Jun 1786)
• Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, S.M.O.M. †
• Emmanuel John Bidwell † (Priest: 8 May 1898; Auxiliary Bishop: 30 Oct 1917 to 11 Jul 1930)
• William Bishop † (Vicar Apostolic: 15 Mar 1623 to 13 Apr 1624)
• Francis Alphonsus Bourne † (Archbishop: 11 Sep 1903 to 1 Jan 1935)
• James Yorke Bramston † (Priest: 1799; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 4 Feb 1823; Vicar Apostolic: 26 Nov 1827 to 11 Jul 1836)
• Nicholas Breakspear †
• Humphrey Penderell Bright †
• Robert Brindle † (Auxiliary Bishop: 31 Jan 1899 to 6 Dec 1901)
• James Buckley †
• John Bulaitis †
• Basil Edward Christopher Butler, O.S.B. † (Auxiliary Bishop: 29 Nov 1966 to 20 Sep 1986)
• John Baptist Butt † (Priest: 15 Jul 1849 to 19 Dec 1884)
• Joseph Butt † (Auxiliary Bishop: 16 Jan 1911 to 23 Apr 1938)
• John Baptist Cahill †
• John Carroll †
• Patrick Joseph Casey † (Priest: 3 Jun 1939; Auxiliary Bishop: 23 Dec 1965 to 2 Dec 1969)
• David John Cashman † (Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Mar 1958 to 14 Jun 1965)
• Richard Challoner † (Deacon: 9 Mar 1716; Priest: 28 Mar 1716; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 12 Sep 1739; Vicar Apostolic: 22 Sep 1758 to 12 Jan 1781)
• Bernardine Thomas Edward Clark, O.F.M. Cap. †
• Robert Aston Coffin, C.Ss.R. †
• George Laurence Craven † (Priest: 29 Jun 1912; Auxiliary Bishop: 14 Jun 1947 to 15 Mar 1967)
• James Danell †
• Edward Dicconson †
• John Douglass † (Vicar Apostolic: 10 Sep 1790 to 8 May 1812)
• Thomas Dunn † (Priest: 2 Feb 1893 to 3 Jan 1916)
• Philip Michael Ellis, O.S.B. †
• George Errington † (Coadjutor Archbishop: 30 Mar 1855 to 22 Jul 1860)
• Michael Charles Evans †
• Patrick Fenton † (Priest: 22 Sep 1866; Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Apr 1904 to 22 Aug 1918)
• Brian Charles Foley †
• Langton Douglas Fox †
• Francis Aidan Gasquet, O.S.B. †
• Andrew Giffard † (Priest: Jan 1674 - )
• Bonaventure Joseph Giffard † (Priest: 1667 to 28 Jan 1688; Vicar Apostolic: 14 Mar 1703 to 22 Mar 1734)
• Guillaume Gifford, O.S.B. †
• William Godfrey † (Archbishop: 3 Dec 1956 to 22 Jan 1963)
• Launcelot John Goody †
• Robert Gradwell † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 17 Jun 1828 to 15 Mar 1833)
• Thomas Grant † (Deacon: 21 Nov 1841; Priest: 28 Nov 1841 to 27 Jun 1851)
• Bernard William Griffin † (Archbishop: 18 Dec 1943 to 19 Aug 1956)
• Michael Ambrose Griffiths, O.S.B. †
• Thomas Griffiths † (Priest: Jul 1814; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 30 Jul 1833; Vicar Apostolic: 11 Jul 1836 to 12 Aug 1847)
• John Joseph Grimes, S.M. †
• Victor Guazzelli † (Priest: 17 Mar 1945; Auxiliary Bishop: 24 Apr 1970 to 21 Dec 1996)
• Philip James Benedict Harvey † (Priest: 3 Jun 1939; Auxiliary Bishop: 28 Mar 1977 to 3 Jul 1990)
• Gilberto de Hastings †
• John Carmel Heenan † (Archbishop: 2 Sep 1963 to 7 Nov 1975)
• Arthur Hinsley † (Archbishop: 1 Apr 1935 to 17 Mar 1943)
• Henry Howard † (Priest: 21 Dec 1709; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 30 Sep 1720 to 22 Nov 1720)
• Philip Thomas Howard of Norfolk, O.P. †
• Arthur Walter Hughes, M. Afr. †
• George Basil Hume, O.S.B. † (Archbishop: 9 Feb 1976 to 17 Jun 1999)
• William Anthony Johnson † (Priest: 19 Dec 1857; Auxiliary Bishop: 20 Apr 1906 to 27 Mar 1909)
• William Lewis Keatinge †
• David Every Konstant † (Priest: 12 Jun 1954; Auxiliary Bishop: 28 Mar 1977 to 12 Jul 1985)
• John Larkin, S.J. † (Priest: 26 Aug 1827 to 23 Oct 1840)
• George Michael Lenihan †
• John Leyburn † (Vicar Apostolic: 24 Aug 1685 to 20 Jun 1702)
• Thomas Maguire †
• Gerald Thomas Mahon, M.H.M. † (Auxiliary Bishop: 24 Apr 1970 to 29 Jan 1992)
• Henry Edward Manning † (Deacon: 8 Jun 1851; Priest: 15 Jun 1851; Archbishop: 16 May 1865 to 14 Jan 1892)
• Francis William Markall, S.J. †
• David James Mathew † (Auxiliary Bishop: 3 Dec 1938 to 20 Feb 1946)
• Richard Mayew (Mayo) †
• Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta †
• John Milner † (Priest: 21 Dec 1776 to 6 Mar 1803)
• William Placid Morris, O.S.B. †
• Cormac Murphy-O’Connor † (Archbishop: 15 Feb 2000 to 3 Apr 2009)
• Edward Myers † (Priest: 7 Dec 1902; Auxiliary Bishop: 10 Jun 1932; Coadjutor Archbishop: 20 Jan 1951 to 13 Sep 1956)
• Leonard Neale †
• St. John Henry Newman, C.O. †
• James Joseph O’Brien † (Priest: 12 Jun 1954; Auxiliary Bishop: 28 Jun 1977 to 30 Jun 2005)
• Henry O’Callaghan † (Priest: 15 Mar 1851 to 1 Oct 1887)
• Patrick O’Donoghue † (Priest: 25 May 1967; Auxiliary Bishop: 18 May 1993 to 5 Jun 2001)
• Edward Parry, S.J. †
• James Laird Patterson † (Priest: 1855; Auxiliary Bishop: 30 Apr 1880 to 2 Dec 1902)
• John Edward Petit †
• Benjamin Petre, O.S.B. † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 23 Jun 1721; Vicar Apostolic: 12 Mar 1734 to 22 Dec 1758)
• Francis Petre † (Priest: 31 Mar 1720 to 27 Jul 1750)
• Reginald Pole †
• William Poynter † (Priest: 1786; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 6 Mar 1803; Vicar Apostolic: 8 May 1812 to 26 Nov 1827)
• Matthew Pritchard, O.F.M. Rec. †
• Richard Russell †
• James Donald Scanlan † (Priest: 29 Jun 1929 to 27 Apr 1946)
• James Smith † (Priest: Jun 1677 to 28 Jan 1688)
• Richard Smith † (Vicar Apostolic: 29 Nov 1624 to 1632)
• Algernon Charles Stanley † (Auxiliary Bishop: 12 Feb 1903 to 23 Apr 1928)
• John Talbot Stonor † (Priest: Feb 1711 to 18 Sep 1715)
• Thomas John Francis de Strickland de Sizorghe †
• James Robert Talbot † (Priest: 19 Dec 1750; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 10 Mar 1759; Vicar Apostolic: 12 Jan 1781 to 24 Jan 1790)
• Thomas Joseph Talbot † (Priest: 19 Dec 1752 to 26 Feb 1766)
• John of Toledo, O. Cist. †
• Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan † (Archbishop: 8 Apr 1892 to 19 Jun 1903)
• William Vaughan †
• John Vertue (Virtue) † (Priest: 20 Dec 1851 to 13 Jun 1882)
• Thomas Walsh † (Vicar Apostolic: 17 Jul 1848 to 18 Feb 1849)
• William Walton † (Deacon: Apr 1739; Priest: 3 Apr 1741 to 18 Jul 1770)
• Bernard Nicholas Ward † (Priest: 8 Oct 1882 to 22 Mar 1917)
• William Wareing †
• William Weathers † (Priest: 1838; Auxiliary Bishop: 27 Sep 1872 to 4 Mar 1895)
• Henry Weedall †
• Thomas Weld †
• William Gordon Wheeler † (Priest: 31 Mar 1940 to 29 Jan 1964)
• Thomas Dominic Williams, O.P. †
• [Richard Nelson Williamson] †
• Nicholas Patrick Stephen (Nicolás Patricio Esteban) Wiseman † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 29 Aug 1847; Vicar Apostolic: 18 Feb 1849; Archbishop: 29 Sep 1850 to 15 Feb 1865)
• George Witham †
• Joseph Sidney Woollett, S.J. †
• Derek John Harford Worlock † (Priest: 3 Jun 1944 to 18 Oct 1965)
• William Laurence York, O.S.B. †

Source(s)

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