Robert Byrne, C.O. (born 22 September 1956) is a prelate of the Catholic Church in England. He was the 14th

Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in the Province of Liverpool, known also on occasion as the Northern Province. History With the gradual abolition of the legal restric ...

from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and much of ...

and the

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 an ...

Cuncacestre Cuncacestre ( Chester-le-Street) was a seat of the Anglo Saxon Bishop of Lindisfarne, and subsists as a Roman Catholic titular see. Start of the Diocese The church was established to house the body of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Bishop of Lind ...

. He is the first Oratorian to be appointed a bishop in England since 1874.

Biography

Early life

Byrne was born on 22 September 1956 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. He was educated at

St Bede's College, Manchester St Bede's College is an Independent Roman Catholic co-educational day school for pupils between 3 and 18 years located on Alexandra Road South in Whalley Range, Manchester, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Confe ...

, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

. He studied at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

in Rome.

Priesthood and Religious Life

Byrne entered the

Birmingham Oratory The Birmingham Oratory is a Catholic religious community of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by John Henry Newman as the first house of that congregation in England. ...

in 1980. On 5 January 1985, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood by

Maurice Couve de Murville Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville (; 24 January 1907 – 24 December 1999) was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaul ...

, the then Archbishop of Birmingham. In 1990, he moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

where he founded the

Oxford Oratory The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga (or Oxford Oratory for short) is the Catholic Church, Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road (Oxford), Woodstock Road, next to Somerville Col ...

. From 1990 to 1999, he was

Parish Priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of the Parish of St Aloysius, Oxford. From 1993 to 2011, he served as the elected

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of Oxford Oratory.

Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham

In March 2014, Pope Francis appointed him an

. As such, he became the first Oratorian to be appointed a bishop in England since 1874 when Edward Bagshawe was appointed Bishop of Nottingham. On 13 May 2014, he was

consecrated 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 ...

to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as the

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 an ...

. The

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was

Bernard Longley Bernard Longley (born 5 April 1955) is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was named the Archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009, and installed on 8 December 2009. Early life and ministry Bernard Longley was born in Opensh ...

, the Archbishop of Birmingham, and the co-consecrators were

Michael C. Barber Michael Charles Barber, SJ (born July 13, 1954) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Oakland in California since 2013. Biography Early life and education Michael Barber was born ...

SJ, the bishop of Oakland, and Philip Pargeter, his predecessor as Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham. His pastoral area within the Archdiocese of Birmingham covered six

deaneries 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 a ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Cathedral, Birmingham North, Birmingham South, Birmingham East,

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

, and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

On 4 February 2019, Pope Francis appointed Byrne the next

, in succession to

Séamus Cunningham Séamus Cunningham (born 7 July 1942) is an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in England. He was the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in the north of England from 2009 to 2019. He retired to the city of Sunderland and helps out as an ...

. He was enthroned as the 14th bishop of the

Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle The 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 ecclesiastical provi ...

during a Mass at St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle on 25 March 2019.

Resignation and controversy

On 12 December 2022, Pope Francis accepted his resignation from his bishopric, nine years before the normal retirement age of 75, as mandated by

Catholic canon law The canon law of the Catholic Church () is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of religious laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regul ...

. In a statement, the bishop said that the duties of his office had "become too great a burden to bear". In the same month, Byrne had been reported to the police "after an allegation of abuse was made against him by a priest from another diocese to his bishop". On 22 January 2023, it was reported that the Vatican was investigating rumours of a sex party at St Mary's Cathedral. As part of the investigation into the resignation of Byrne, the Church was looking into claims one of his priests invited worshippers to a party in his quarters attached to the cathedral during lockdown. The priest, Michael McCoy, dean of the cathedral, killed himself four days after finding out he was being investigated by police for child sexual abuse. In a letter seen by ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

Malcolm McMahon Malcolm Patrick McMahon, OP, KC*HS (born 14 June 1949) is an English Catholic prelate who served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Liverpool from 2014 to 2025. He was Bishop of Nottingham from 2000 to 2014. He is a member of the Dominican Ord ...

, archbishop of Liverpool, who is leading the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Byrne's resignation, said he has been asked by the pope’s advisers to prepare "an in-depth report into the events leading up to Bishop Byrne’s resignation". In May 2023, a summary of the report was published which included a number of findings: * "lewd parties" did not take place at St Mary's Cathedral but gatherings for volunteers with wine and takeaways did take place, in contravention to Covid regulations * Bishop's House in

West Denton West Denton is an area in the western part of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. Education Some of the schools in the area include: Primary: *Beech Hill Primary School *West Denton Primary School *St John Vianney RC Pr ...

was sold and a replacement was bought in

Gosforth Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, situated north of the Newcastle City Centre, City Centre. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district of Northumberland from 1895 until 1974 before of ...

, a middle class area: this was deemed an "error of judgement" and that "Bishop Byrne could have relocated to a property that served his and diocesan needs in a less conspicuous area at a lower cost" * Despite multiple safeguarding issues against him, Byrne promoted Canon Michael McCoy to dean of Newcastle cathedral: McCoy would go on to kill himself after police spoke with him in relation to historic sexual abuse allegations * Byrne continued to associate with Timothy Gardner OP, a convicted paedophile: including being seen together in public, inviting him multiple times to the bishop's residence, and attempting to get him employment in the diocese's archives and for an overseas charity. In 2025, Gardner was further convicted of five new sex offences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Robert Oratorian bishops 1956 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in England People educated at St Bede's College, Manchester Alumni of King's College London Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Hexham and Newcastle English Roman Catholic bishops