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 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 was created in 1688 and was dissolved in 1850 and its former area was replaced by the episcopal sees 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 ...

and Southwark.

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 ...

, in 1559, the bishops of England and Wales 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 ...

, and 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 April 3, 1585.

Apostolic Vicariate of England

In 1623, after 65 years of formal absence from England and Wales, Pope Urban VIII appointed a bishop with actual jurisdiction in England. His choice fell upon William Bishop, who was given the title of Apostolic Vicar of England. Bishop landed secretly in England at midnight on 31 July 1623, but was to die only nine months later. Bishop was succeeded in office by Richard Smith, also ordained a bishop, who arrived in England in April 1625. However, two warrants were issued for Smith's arrest in August 1631, and he was forced to resign and flee to France, where he eventually died in Paris in 1655. After 1631, there was no Roman Catholic bishop in England for another 54 years, and the void was to some extent filled by a

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and chapter of rather unsure legal status, first established by Bishop and confirmed by Smith. It was only in 1685 that a successor was appointed by Rome, in the person of

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 ...

, a Doctor of Divinity of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and a former President of the English College at Douai, who was consecrated bishop in Rome on 9 September 1685. In 1623, Bishop had divided England into six areas, at the head of each of which he placed a superior 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' ...

, and this had remained the system thereafter. Leyburn reduced these six areas to four. In the summer of 1687 he toured the North of England and confirmed over 20,000 Catholics there.

Apostolic Vicariate of the London District

On 30 January 1688, the number of bishops in England and Wales was increased by the Pope to four vicars apostolic, as a result of which the single apostolic vicariate was divided into the London District, the Midland District, the Northern District and the Western District. The first vicar apostolic of the London District was Bishop John Leyburn, who had previously since 24 August 1685 served as

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 ...

. In 1688, the Apostolic Vicariate of London also became responsible for Catholics in the British colonies of the New World. This ended in Newfoundland on 30 May 1784 with the creation of the Apostolic Prefecture of Newfoundland,History of the Archdiocese , The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s
/ref> and in the United States on 26 November 1784 with the creation of the

Apostolic Prefecture of the United States The Apostolic Prefecture of the United States ( la, Praefectura Apostolica Civitatum Foederatarum Americae Septentrionalis) was the earliest Roman Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction to be officially recognized after the United States declared i ...

. Although the vicariates as a whole were later more finely divided over the years, and notwithstanding intermittent persecution, an Apostolic Vicariate of the London District continued in existence until on 29 September 1850 when Pope Pius IX issued the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

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 were created, among them the metropolitan Diocese of Westminster, a new jurisdiction which formally replaced part of the previous vicariate. At the same time, the remainder of the London District became the suffragan Diocese of Southwark. The last Apostolic Vicar of the London District was Bishop Nicholas Wiseman (d. 1865), who on 29 September 1850 was assigned the title of Metropolitan Archbishop of Westminster. The following day he was created a cardinal. The district ceased to be missionary territory and exempt, its prelate becoming the head of the new English

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 seve ...

List of Apostolic Vicars of the London District

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

GigaCatholic (Westminster archdiocese) with incumbent biography links
{{Diocese of Westminster History of Catholicism in England

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Catholic Church in London Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark