The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton () is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

in southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

covering the counties of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

(excluding Spelthorne, which is part of the Diocese of Westminster). The diocese was erected on 28 May 1965 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, having previously been a part of the larger Diocese of Southwark, which was elevated to an archdiocese with a new ecclesiastical province on the same date.

Bishops

There have been five bishops of this diocese. The first was Bishop David Cashman, who was consecrated on 14 June 1965. He died in March 1971 and was succeeded by Bishop Michael George Bowen, who was translated in April 1977 to head the Archdiocese of Southwark. He was succeeded by then-Bishop

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 2000 to 2009. He was also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made ...

who, in March 2000, became the 10th Archbishop of

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, and later, a Cardinal. His successor, Bishop Kieran Conry, served from 2001 until his resignation in 2014. On Saturday, 21 March 2015,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Bishop Richard Moth, who had been serving as the Catholic Military Ordinary for Great Britain, to be the fifth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. He was installed on Thursday, 28 May 2015, at Arundel Cathedral, the fiftieth anniversary of the diocese's creation. * David John Cashman (1965-1971) * Michael George Bowen (1971-1977), appointed Archbishop of Southwark *

(1977-2000), appointed Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal in 2001) * Kieran Thomas Conry (2001-2014) * Charles Phillip Richard Moth (2015- )

Coadjutor Bishop

* Michael George Bowen (1970-1971)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville, appointed Archbishop of Birmingham in 1982 * Bernard Longley, appointed auxiliary bishop of Westminster in 2003

Metropolitan province

The diocese comprises part of the

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

of Southwark, which is currently presided over by John Wilson, by virtue of his office of Archbishop of Southwark. The diocese itself covers the administrative counties of

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

outside of the

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

Boroughs, and the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

. It is one of 22 Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales.

Geographical area

Situated in the South East of England, the diocese encompasses many villages and smaller towns, as well as highly populated parts of Surrey, central Sussex and the coastal region running from

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

to the

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

border.

Mass attendance

The diocese has a weekly Mass attendance of 43,377 persons, which would be approximately one quarter of the total Catholic population. There are 116 parishes with a number of other centres where Mass is celebrated regularly. In April 2005, the Diocese had 182 diocesan and 97 religious priests, as well as 16 permanent

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

s. There are many

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

s of both men and women, living and working in the diocese in a number of apostolates. The diocese has a total of 90 Catholic schools.

Local pilgrimage

The diocese also founded the annual Arundel and Brighton Pilgrimage. Though the pilgrimage is largely Roman Catholic, it is in fact ecumenical and there are several Anglican attendants. The first pilgrimage took place in 1975 around the diocese but has since gone on to include cross-country routes through England and Wales, with different themes and stops at various churches and cathedrals.

Anti-abuse policy

In the early 2000s, the

sexual abuse scandal in Arundel and Brighton diocese The sexual abuse scandal in Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, Arundel and Brighton diocese was an episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in various Western countries. Michael Hill affair In 2000, Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O ...

hurt the public's trust in the work of local diocesan officials.

References

External links

Diocese Official WebsiteThe Catholic Children's Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arundel And Brighton Religious organisations based in England Christian organizations established in 1965 Religion in Surrey Religion in East Sussex Religion in West Sussex Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Southwark Christianity in Sussex