Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth

For the Church of England suffragan bishop, see Anglican Bishop of Plymouth.

Bishop of Plymouth

Bishopric
catholic
Incumbent:
Sede Vacante
Location
Ecclesiastical province| Southwark
Information
Established| 1850
Diocese| Plymouth
Cathedral| Plymouth Cathedral

The Bishop of Plymouth is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth in the Province of Southwark, England.[1][2]

The diocese covers an area of 12,831 km2 (4,954 sq mi) and consists of the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The see is in the City of Plymouth where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface.[1][2]

The diocese of Plymouth was one of the dioceses erected on 29 September 1850 from the Vicariate Apostolic of the Western District.[1][2] The Right Reverend Mark O'Toole, the 9th Bishop of Plymouth, was appointed on 9 November 2013 by Pope Francis.[3] In June 2022 he was translated to both the Archbishopric of Cardiff and the Bishopric of Menevia; since then the see has been vacant.

In December 2023, Pope Francis appointed Canon Christopher Whitehead of the Diocese of Clifton to become the 10th Bishop of Plymouth. Bishop-Elect Christopher was to be installed on 22 February 2024.[4] On 1 February, the Bishops of England and Wales announced that his ordination was cancelled, pending a canonical process investigating Canon Whitehead, who stepped down from active ministry during the investigation.[5] Whitehead was subsequently cleared of all charges, and returned to ministry in Clifton.[6] In September 2024, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Philip Moger, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Southwark, to become the 10th Bishop of Plymouth, to be installed on 9 November 2024.[7] On November 6, however, Moger issued an apology stating he intended to postpone his installation until termination of the investigation of personal issued raised.[8] Finally, on 24 February, 2025, Bishop Moger announced via the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales that the pope had accepted his resignation from the appointment to the see of Plymouth, as the resolution of ‘concerns of a personal nature’ had ‘taken longer than anticipated’.[9]

## List of bishops

[edit]

Roman Catholic Bishops of Plymouth

From  | Until  | Incumbent  | Notes
1851  | 1855  | George Errington | Appointed bishop on 27 June 1851, consecrated on 25 July 1851, and installed on 7 August 1851. Translated to Westminster as Coadjutor Archbishop on 30 March 1855.[10]
1855  | 1902  | William Vaughan | Appointed bishop on 10 July 1855 and consecrated on 16 September 1855. Died in office on 24 October 1902.[11]
1902  | 1911  | Charles Maurice Graham | Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Plymouth on 25 September 1891 and consecrated on 28 October 1891. Succeeded Bishop of Plymouth on 25 October 1902. Retired on 16 March 1911 and appointed Titular Bishop of Tiberias. Died on 2 September 1912.[12]
1911  | 1928  | John Joseph Keily | Appointed bishop on 21 April 1911 and consecrated on 13 June 1911. Died in office on 23 September 1928.[13]
1929  | 1946  | John Patrick Barrett | Formerly an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham (1926–1929). Appointed Bishop of Plymouth on 7 June 1929. Died in office on 2 November 1946.[14]
1947  | 1954  | Francis Joseph Grimshaw | Appointed bishop on 2 June 1947 and consecrated on 25 July 1947. Translated to the archbishopric of Birmingham on 11 May 1954.[15]
1955  | 1985  | Cyril Edward Restieaux | Appointed bishop on 9 April 1955 and consecrated on 14 June 1955. Retired on 19 November 1985 and died on 27 February 1996.[16]
1986  | 2013  | Hugh Christopher Budd | Appointed bishop on 19 November 1985 and consecrated on 15 January 1986. Retired on 9 November 2013[17] and died on 1 April 2023.[18]
2014  | 2022  | Mark O'Toole | Appointed bishop on 9 November 2013 [3] and consecrated on 28 January 2014[19] Translated to both the Archbishopric of Cardiff and Bishopric of Menevia on 20 and 22 June 2022 respectively.
2023  | 2024  | Christopher John Whitehead | On 15 December 2023 Pope Francis appointed Canon Christopher Whitehead as the tenth bishop of Plymouth. His episcopal ordination and installation was to take place on 22 February 2024, however, on the 1 February 2024 it was announced that the bishop-elect had stood down from public ministry.

## See also

[edit]

* St Boniface's Catholic College \- school houses are named for the bishops of Plymouth

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Diocese of Plymouth". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
2. ^ a b c Diocese of Plymouth at GCatholic.org.com. Retrieved on 14 June 2011.
3. ^ a b "Pope Francis appoints new English bishop". Catholic Herald. UK. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
4. ^ "New bishop appointed to 'beautiful Plymouth'". BBC News. 15 December 2023.
5. ^ Colsy, Thomas (1 February 2024). "Mystery as ordination of new Plymouth bishop is cancelled without explanation". Catholic Herald.
6. ^ Pepinster, Catherine. "Declan Lang resignation not connected with Plymouth bishop controversy, says diocese". The Tablet.
7. ^ "Pope Francis appoints Bishop Philip Moger as the new Bishop of Plymouth". Catholic Bishops' Conference. 13 September 2024.
8. ^ "Installation Statement from the Bishop-elect of Plymouth". Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
9. ^ "Statement: Bishop Philip Moger". Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. 24 February 2025. Archived from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
10. ^ "Archbishop George Errington". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
11. ^ "Bishop William Vaughan". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
12. ^ "Bishop Charles Maurice Graham". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
13. ^ "Bishop John Joseph Keily". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
14. ^ "Bishop John Patrick Barrett". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
15. ^ "Archbishop Francis Joseph Grimshaw". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
16. ^ "Bishop Cyril Edward Restieaux". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
17. ^ "Bishop Hugh Christopher Budd". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
18. ^ "Bishop Christopher Budd has died". ICN. 1 April 2023.
19. ^ "Seminary Rector Mgr Mark O'Toole appointed Bishop of Plymouth". Independent Catholic News. UK. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth at Wikimedia Commons
* Diocese of Plymouth
* Dioecesis Plymuthensis Catholic-Hierarchy.org

* v
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Diocese of Plymouth

Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth

* Bishops of Plymouth

* I: George Errington
* II: William Vaughan
* III: Charles Graham
* IV: John Keily
* V: John Barrett
* VI: Francis Grimshaw
* VII: Cyril Restieaux
* VIII: Christopher Budd
* IX: Mark O'Toole

* Churches

* Plymouth Cathedral \- Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface

* Church of St Mary and St Petroc, Bodmin
* Holy Trinity Church, Dorchester
* Sacred Heart Church, Exeter
* St Mary Immaculate Church, Falmouth
* Our Lady and St Nectan's Church, Hartland
* Church of Our Lady and St Andrew, Portland
* St Paul's Church, Tintagel
* Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, Torquay
* Our Lady Help of Christians and St Denis Church, Torquay
* St Joseph's Church, Weymouth

* Patronal Feasts of the Diocese

* Saint Boniface (5 June)

* Schools

* Leweston School
* Notre Dame Catholic School
* St Boniface's Catholic College
* St Cuthbert Mayne School
* St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School

* See also:

* Buckfast Abbey
* St Mawgan Monastery
* Sclerder Abbey
* Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District

* Catholicism portal
* Cornwall portal
* Devon portal

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Province of Southwark|

* Richard Moth (Arundel and Brighton)
* Sede vacante (Plymouth)
* Philip Egan (Portsmouth)
* John Wilson (Southwark)

Province of Cardiff-Menevia|

* Mark O'Toole
* Cardiff-Menevia
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* Kenneth Nowakowski
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Former|

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