The Pontypridd Deanery is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

in the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia, previously in the

Archdiocese of Cardiff 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 ...

, which covers several churches and the university chaplaincy in

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and the surrounding area of

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

, the southernmost part of the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 19 ...

, and

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

. In the early 2000s, the Head of the Valleys deanery was split. The churches in its western part, in the county boroughs of

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...

, became part of the Pontypridd deanery and the churches in its eastern part, in the county borough of

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...

, became part of the North Gwent Deanery.

Churches

* St Thomas,

Abercynon Abercynon () is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to ...

* St Peter,

Bargoed Bargoed () is a town and community (Wales), community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly. It straddles the Historic counties o ...

– served from Abercynon * St Helen,

* Our Lady of Lourdes,

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also

* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...

* St Joseph,

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

– served from Mountain Ash * St Therese of Lisieux,

Hirwaun Hirwaun (, ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the United Ki ...

– served from Mountain Ash * St Mary,

* St Aloysius, Gurnos – served from Merthyr Tydfil * St Illtyd,

Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and Community (Wales), community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The populati ...

St Illtyd's Roman Catholic Church, Dowlais
from British listed buildings, retrieved 27 March 2015 – served from Merthyr Tydfil * St Benedict,

Merthyr Vale Merthyr Vale ( or ) is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff. The community includes the villages of Aberfan on the opposite side of the T ...

– served from Merthyr Tydfil * Ss Gabriel and Raphael,

Tonypandy Tonypandy (, ) is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the to ...

* St Dyfrig,

Treforest Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...

* Glamorgan University Chaplaincy – served from Treforest * All Hallows,

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the t ...

- served from Treforest * St Mary Magdalene,

Ynyshir Ynyshir (; English pronunciation 'Un-is-heer') is a village and community located in the Rhondda Valley, within Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The name of the village means "long island" in Welsh and takes its name from a farm in the area, fa ...

Gallery

File:Catholic Church of St Thomas, Abercynon - geograph.org.uk - 3077426.jpg, St Thomas, Abercynon File:St Peter's on the Graig RC church, Bargoed - geograph.org.uk - 3491762.jpg, St Peter, Bargoed File:St Joseph's RC Church, Aberdare, late 2002.jpg, St Joseph, Aberdare File:St Helen Church, Caerphilly-Geograph-1817556-by-Jaggery.jpg, St Helen, Caerphilly File:Catholic Church, Dowlais (4641536).jpg, St Illtyd's Church, Dowlais File:Church of SS Gabriel and Raphael, Tonypandy - geograph.org.uk - 2668962.jpg, Ss Gabriel and Raphael, Tonypandy File:St. Dyfrig's Church, Treforest - geograph.org.uk - 806482.jpg, St Dyfrig, Treforest File:St Benedict's RC Church, Merthyr Vale - geograph.org.uk - 3025795.jpg, St Benedict, Merthyr Vale File:Our Lady of Lourdes, Mountain Ash - geograph.org.uk - 3826135.jpg, Our Lady of Lourdes, Mountain Ash

References

External links

Pontypridd Deanery Website

St Thomas Parish site

Merthyr Tydfil Parish site

St Helen's Catholic Church, Caerphilly Website

St Dyfrig Parish site

Ss Gabriel and Raphael Parish site

St Mary Magdalene Parish site

Mountain Ash Parish site
{{Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia Roman Catholic Deaneries in the Archdiocese of Cardiff