The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 ...

centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The diocese covers the City and County of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the ceremonial counties 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 ...

, Somerset, 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 ...

, an area of . Thus it stretches from Stow on the Wold in the north to Minehead and Watchet in the South. The most north-westerly parishes are in the Forest of Dean, while Marlborough near Swindon is one of the most easterly. The City of Bristol, of which Clifton is a suburb, is the largest centre of population within the Diocese; Swindon is the next biggest. Other well-known cities and towns include Bath, Wells, Cheltenham,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

and

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

. The Clifton Diocese makes up part of the

Catholic Association Pilgrimage The 'Catholic Association'' of the UK, abbreviated to the CA, has been around in one form or another since 1881 and ran its first pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1901. Its objects are set out in the Memorandum and Articles but its main purpose is to mast ...

. The diocese was erected in 1850; from then until 1911 it was in the ecclesiastical province of Westminster, and has been in the

province of Birmingham The Catholic dioceses in Great Britain are organised by two separate hierarchies: the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and the Catholic Church in Scotland. Within Great Britain, the Catholic Church of England and Wales has five province ...

since then.

Statistics

The Diocese has 107 Parishes, or the equivalent. Many have chapels-of-ease or other Mass centres, adding a total of 99 chapels. The parishes are run by a mixture of Diocesan priests, and priests who belong to Religious Orders such as the Benedictines, Franciscans and others.

Diocesan boundaries

The diocese is divided into 13 deaneries (originally six), each of which contain a number of parishes: *Bath (Dean: Canon Christopher Whitehead): Bath Our Lady and St Alphege; Bath St John; Bath St Mary; Combe Down; Peasedown St John;

Stratton-on-the-Fosse Stratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population of 1,108, and has a rural agricultu ...

. *Bristol East (Dean: Fr Gregory Grant): Chipping Sodbury and Yate; Downend; Easton; Fishponds; Frenchay; Kingswood; Redfield. *Bristol North West (Dean: Fr Eugene Campbell): Bishopston; Filton; Henbury; Lawrence Weston; Patchway; Shirehampton; Southmead; Thornbury; Westbury-on-Trym. *Bristol South (Dean: Fr Michael Healy):

Bristol City Centre Bristol City Centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area north of the New Cut of the River Avon, bounded by Clifton Wood and Clifton to the north-west, Kingsdown and Cotham to the north, and ...

; Chew Valley; Keynsham; Knowle; Knowle West; Whitchurch; Withywood. *Cheltenham (Dean: Fr David Mills): Charlton Kings; Cheltenham St Gregory; Cheltenham St Thomas More; Chipping Campden; Kemerton; Stow-on-the-Wold; Tewkesbury; Winchcombe. *Glastonbury (Dean: Fr Dominic Findlay-Wilson): Chard;

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

; Shepton Mallet; Somerton; Wells; Wincanton; Yeovil. *Gloucester (Dean: Fr Barnabas Page): Brockworth; Churchdown; Cinderford; Coleford;

; Matson; Newent; Tuffley. *Salisbury (Dean: Fr Anthony Paris): Amesbury; Salisbury Most Holy Redeemer and St Osmund; Salisbury St Gregory and the English Martyrs; Tisbury. *Stroud (Dean: Fr Gary Brassington): Cirencester; Dursley; Fairford; Nympsfield; Stonehouse; Stroud; Tetbury; Woodchester; Wotton-under-Edge. *Swindon (Dean: Canon John Cunningham):

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

; Marlborough; Royal Wootton Bassett; Swindon Holy Family; Swindon Holy Rood; Swindon St Mary; Swindon St Peter; Wroughton. *Taunton (Dean: Fr Michael Thomas): Bridgwater; Dulverton; Minehead; Taunton St George; Taunton St Teresa of Lisieux; Wellington. *Trowbridge (Dean: Fr Martin Queenan):

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

; Calne; Chippenham; Corsham; Devizes; Frome; Melksham; Trowbridge; Warminster. *Weston-super-Mare (Dean: Canon Tom Gunning): Burnham-on-Sea; Cheddar;

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

; Nailsea; Portishead; Weston-super-Mare Corpus Christi; Weston-super-Mare Our Lady of Lourdes; Weston-super-Mare St Joseph.

History

The English Reformation suppressed the Catholic hierarchy in England by the mid-16th century. In 1622 the

Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

created an apostolic vicariate for the whole of England, which was divided into four districts in 1688. The Western District, comprising the whole of Wales and the present Dioceses of Plymouth and Clifton, was by far the poorest. The hierarchy was restored in 1850 by Pope Pius IX, and the Western District was created the Diocese of Clifton, so-called because the

Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the British Parliament (14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church of England and Ireland" to use any episcopal title "of any city, t ...

(repealed 20 years later by the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871) made it illegal for Catholic dioceses to use the same title as current or former Anglican dioceses, despite the fact that the Diocese of Clifton had its

Cathedral Church 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 ...

within the City of Bristol. The apostolic vicar William Joseph Hendren was appointed as the first bishop. In 1830, in an attempt to ensure a supply of priests for the district, Bishop Peter Baines, the Vicar-Apostolic, had bought the

Prior Park Prior Park is a Neo-Palladian house that was designed by John Wood, the Elder, and built in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The house was bu ...

estate near Bath and had established there a school and a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, now

Prior Park College Prior Park College is a mixed Roman Catholic public school for both day and boarding students. Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, Somerset, in southwest England, Prior Park has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I li ...

. Although an academic success the college was a financial disaster. Bishop Hendren resigned in 1851 realising his inability to do anything about the huge debts on the college. His successor, Bishop Thomas Burgess, died in 1854 without doing anything to solve the problem. A Decree of the Sacred College promulgated on 22 December 1855 prevented the appointment of a new Bishop of Clifton until the problems of the college had been solved. Instead, an administrator was appointed who would manage the affairs of the diocese until a bishop was appointed. He was Archbishop Errington, Co-Adjutor to Cardinal Wiseman the Archbishop of Westminster. He arrived at Prior Park at the end of October 1855, but was not able to do anything to preserve the college. A Court Order was enforced against the college for non-payment of rent, and the contents of the college were sold by auction, and the premises vacated. The problem of Prior Park having been settled, a new Bishop of Clifton was appointed. William Clifford, the second son of Lord Clifford of Chudleigh in Devon, was consecrated by Pope Pius IX on 15 February 1857, and enthroned at the pro-cathedral on 17 March 1857. For the next 36 years he guided the diocese to prosperity. Clifton Cathedral from north (600px)

The

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

had an unfortunate history. Work on the building started in 1834 but ceased the following year when the foundations failed. The half-finished building was abandoned in 1843 when a second attempt to reinforce the foundations again failed. Bishop William Ullathorne, Vicar-Apostolic from 1846 to 1848, had a roof placed on the half-finished building so that it could be used as a church, but Bishop Clifford, with the advice of the architect Charles Hansom, had it converted into a reasonable pro-cathedral. He also re-purchased Prior Park and re-opened the school and the seminary, much of the expense being found by the bishop's family. Bishop Clifford died in 1893. His successor, Bishop William Brownlow, was consecrated in 1894 and died in 1901. Brownlow's successor, Bishop George Ambrose Burton, a priest of the

Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, centred on St Mary's Cathedral in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. The diocese is one of the six suffragan sees in the ecclesiastic ...

, was Bishop of Clifton for the next 29 years. An outstanding scholar, he was an authority on ancient manuscripts and catalogued the documents which now form the basis of the Diocesan Archives. He saw the magnificent

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both ...

completed, and he welcomed a second Benedictine community when the convert community from

Caldey Island Caldey Island ( Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited ...

came to the diocese to settle at

Prinknash Abbey Prinknash Abbey (pronounced locally variously as "Prinidge/Prinnish") (IPA: ) is a Roman Catholic monastery in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the village of Cranham. It belongs to the English Province of the Subiaco Cas ...

. Bishop William Lee, who had been secretary to Bishop Burton, succeeded him in 1931. During his 16 years as bishop, he founded 72 new parishes and Mass Centres. His successor, Bishop Joseph Rudderham, a priest of the Diocese of Northampton, was consecrated at Clifton on 26 July 1949. The financial demands made on the people of the diocese to provide new schools to comply with the provisions of the 1944 Education Act resulted in expenditure of £332,000 between 1949 and 1960. In spite of these demands, the building of a new cathedral was undertaken in 1968. On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 1973, in the presence of a vast gathering of religious and civic dignitaries, Bishop Rudderham took possession of the current

Clifton Cathedral The Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Bristol (not to be confused with the Church of England Bristol Cathedral). Located in the Clifton area of the city, it is the seat and mother church of the ...

. Bishop Rudderham resigned his See in August 1974 and died in retirement in February 1979. His auxiliary bishop, Bishop Mervyn Alexander was appointed eighth Bishop of Clifton in December 1974 and guided the diocese for the next 27 years. He then retired to Weston-super-Mare as parish priest at St Joseph's. In March 2001, Bishop Declan Lang was ordained as the eighth Bishop of Clifton.

Bishops

Ordinaries

The current bishop is the Right Reverend Declan Lang, who was born on 15 April 1950 in Cowes,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. Ordained in 1975, he was a priest in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is a Latin Church Roman Catholic diocese that covers the Channel Islands as well as parts of England (Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and parts of Berkshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire). The episcopal see is St ...

, serving as

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' ...

from 1996. He was appointed the ninth Bishop of Clifton by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 27 February 2001.

Vicars Apostolic of Western District

* Michael Ellis, O.S.B. (1688-1705); later appointed Bishop of Segni, Italy * Andrew Giffard (1705); did not take effect * Matthew Pritchard, O.F.M. Rec. (1713-1750) * Laurence York, O.S.B. (1750-1763) *

Charles Walmesley Charles Walmesley, OSB (best known by the pseudonyms Signor Pastorino or Pastorini; 13 January 1722 – 25 November 1797) was the Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Rama and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England. He was known, especi ...

, O.S.B. (1763-1797) * William Gregory Sharrock, O.S.B. (1797-1809) * Peter Bernardine Collingridge, O.F.M. Rec. (1809-1829) * Peter Augustine Baines, O.S.B. (1829-1843) * Charles Michael Baggs (1844-1845) *

William Bernard Ullathorne William Bernard Ullathorne (7 May 180621 March 1889) was an English prelate who held high offices in the Roman Catholic Church during the nineteenth century. Early life Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest of ...

, O.S.B. (1846-1848), appointed Vicar Apostolic of Central District * Joseph William Hendren, O.F.M. Rec. (1848-1850); ''see below''

Bishops of Clifton

Coadjutor Vicars Apostolic

* Peter Augustine Baines, O.S.B. (1823-1829) * Peter Bernardine Collingridge, O.F.M. Rec. (1807-1809) * Charles Francis McDonnel, O.F.M. Rec. (1816), did not take effect * James Jerome Sharrock, O.S.B. (1806), did not take effect * William Gregory Sharrock, O.S.B. (1779-1797) *

, O.S.B. (1756-1763) * Laurence York, O.S.B. (1741-1750)

Auxiliary bishop

* Mervyn Alban Alexander (1972-1974), appointed Bishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Francis Edward Joseph Grimshaw, appointed Bishop of Plymouth in 1947 * Roger Francis Crispian Hollis, appointed auxiliary bishop of Birmingham in 1987 * Michael Joseph Lawrence McGrath, appointed Bishop of Menevia, Wales in 1935 * William Vaughan, appointed Bishop of Plymouth in 1855

References

External links

Clifton Diocese
{{Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales Religious organizations established in 1850 Christianity in Bristol Religion in Gloucestershire Religion in Somerset Religion in Wiltshire Religious organizations established in 1688 Pope Pius IX Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 17th century Clifton, Bristol 1850 establishments in England 1688 establishments in England Clifton