The Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia is the ordinary of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia The Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia (; ) is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church which covers south Wales and the county of Herefordshire in England. The Metropolitan Province of Cardiff covers all of Wales and parts of England. Its one suf ...

. The position came about after the merger of the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia in 2024, after the positions of bishops of those dioceses were held by the same person, Mark O'Toole. The archdiocese covers an area of and spans the historic county of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

and all of South Wales. The

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

of the previous archdiocese was in the city of

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

where the archbishop's seat was located at the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David and the seat of the Diocese of Menevia was in

St Joseph's Cathedral, Swansea The Cathedral Church of Saint Joseph, also known as St Joseph's Cathedral, Menevia Cathedral or Swansea Cathedral, is a Grade II-listed Catholic cathedral in Swansea, Wales. It was the seat of the Bishop of Menevia and mother church of the Dioc ...

. With the exception of the second archbishop, Francis Mostyn, born in Flintshire and of local descent, the Welsh connections of the archbishops and bishops have been extremely weak. Ireland, London and the English provinces have supplied a majority. The see is currently held by Mark O'Toole, the 1st Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia. He was originally the 8th and last Archbishop of Cardiff and 12th and last Bishop of Menevia, who was appointed by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

on 27 April 2022 and installed at

St David's Cathedral, Cardiff The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David ( Welsh: Eglwys Gadeiriol Fetropolitan Dewi Sant), also known as St David's Cathedral, Cardiff, is a Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales, and is the centre of the Archdiocese o ...

on 20 June and

on 23 June 2022.

History

The

Vicariate Apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of the Welsh District was created out of the Western District of England and Wales in 1840.Archdiocese of Cardiff
''Catholic-Hierarchy''. Retrieved 3 May 2010. The Welsh District covered all of the principality of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and the English county of

. On the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

in 1850, the Welsh District was divided. The southern half became the Diocese of Newport and Menevia and the northern half became part of the

Diocese of Shrewsbury The Diocese of Shrewsbury () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Province of Birmingham which encompasses the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in the North West and West Midlands of England. The diocese includ ...

.Titular Episcopal See of Newport
''GCatholic''. Retrieved 3 May 2010. In 1895, the diocese lost territory on the creation of the Vicariate Apostolic of Wales, which became the diocese of Menevia in 1898. As a result, the see changed its name to simply the diocese of Newport. Following further reorganisation of the Catholic Church in Wales in 1916, the diocese of Newport was elevated to an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

and changed its name to the archdiocese of Cardiff. The archbishop has jurisdiction over the bishops of

Menevia The Diocese of Menevia () was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It was one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and was subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff, until it merged with the archd ...

and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. The Diocese of Menevia was merged into the Archdiocese of Cardiff, to become the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia in 2024.

Office holders

Vicars Apostolic of the Welsh District

Vicars Apostolic of Wales

Bishops of Newport and Menevia

In 1895, the episcopal title became simply the Bishop of Newport.

Bishop of Menevia

Archbishops of Cardiff

Archbishops of Cardiff-Menevia

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archbishop Of Cardiff-Menevia Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff de:Erzbistum Cardiff