Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster

Catholic diocese in England

Diocese of Lancaster

Dioecesis Lancastrensis

Location
Country|  England
Territory| County of Cumbria and the northwestern part of the county of Lancashire (the Hundreds of Lonsdale and Amounderness).
Ecclesiastical province| Liverpool
Deaneries| 11
Coordinates| 54°03′00″N 2°47′53″W﻿ / ﻿54.050°N 2.798°W﻿ / 54.050; -2.798
Statistics
Area| 2,900 km2 (1,100 sq mi)
Population

* Total

* Catholics

* (as of 2019)

* 1,232,000

* 101,700 (8.3%)

Parishes| 79
Information
Denomination| Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church| Latin Church
Rite| Roman Rite
Established| 22 November 1924
Cathedral| Lancaster Cathedral
Secular priests| 134
Current leadership
Pope| Leo XIV
Bishop| Paul Swarbrick
Metropolitan Archbishop| Malcolm McMahon OP
Vicar General|

* Dunstan Cooper
* Paul Embery

Episcopal Vicars|

* Francis Slattery
* Chris Cousens

Bishops emeritus| Michael Gregory Campbell OSA
Map

The Diocese of Lancaster within the Province of Liverpool
Website
lancasterdiocese.org.uk

The Diocese of Lancaster (Latin: Dioecesis Lancastrensis) is a Latin Church Roman Catholic diocese centred on Lancaster Cathedral in the city of Lancaster in Lancashire, England.

## History

[edit]

See also: Catholic Church in England and Wales

The diocese was erected in 1924, taking areas and parishes from the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Emeritus bishop Patrick O'Donoghue retired on 1 May 2009, and emeritus bishop Michael Gregory Campbell OSA retired on 9 April 2018. As of 9 April 2018[update], the ordinary is Paul Swarbrick.

## Details

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It is in the province of Liverpool. It extends along the west of England from the Ribble River in the south of Preston to the Scottish border, comprising the counties of Cumbria and much of Lancashire. The diocese has around 90 active priests, 50 permanent deacons, 12 secondary schools, over a hundred primary schools and a similar number of parishes.

Central organisations of the diocese include the residential youth centre Castlerigg Manor, the Diocesan Youth Service, the Education Centre, Catholic Caring Services and others including the monthly diocesan newspaper, The Voice. There are also many other committees, societies and other informal organisations in the diocese.

## Area and population

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The diocesan area is 2,900 km2 (1,100 sq mi). In 2004 the Catholic population of the diocese was 111,264 for a total of 1,050,000 inhabitants (10.6%).

Areas in the diocese include the city of Preston; a city with an uncharacteristically high Catholic population - the highest anywhere in England & Wales in fact, due in no small part to the fact that the Protestant Reformation never took hold in Preston to the same extent as it did in other places. Also notable in the diocese are: the Lake District, Sellafield nuclear power station, and towns and cities including Carlisle, Lancaster, Blackpool, Whitehaven, Workington, Barrow-in-Furness, the major shipbuilding town.

## Bishops

[edit]

Main article: Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster

Since the erection of the Diocese in 1924, there have been seven bishops of this diocese. The longest-serving was the third (Brian Charles Foley), who served from 1962 until 1985. The most recent to retire is Michael Gregory Campbell. Campbell was installed on 1 May 2009 following the retirement of Patrick O'Donoghue. On 12 February 2018 it was announced that Pope Francis had appointed Canon Paul Swarbrick, parish priest of Christ the Good Shepherd, Workington, to be the seventh bishop of the diocese. On 9 April 2018, Paul Swarbrick was consecrated and installed as Bishop of Lancaster at St Peter's Cathedral; Vincent Cardinal Nichols attended the ordination.

The above-mentioned main article lists the ordinaries (bishops of the diocese).

### Coadjutor Bishops

[edit]

* John (Jack) Brewer (1983–1985)
* Michael Gregory Campbell, O.S.A. (2008–2009)

### Auxiliary Bishop

[edit]

* Thomas Bernard Pearson (1949–1983); do not confuse with Thomas Wulstan Pearson, O.S.B., the first bishop of this diocese.

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

[edit]

* Patrick Altham Kelly, appointed Bishop of Salford in 1984
* Brian Michael Noble, appointed Bishop of Shrewsbury in 1995

## St Peter's Cathedral

[edit]

Further information: Lancaster Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Peter on Balmoral Road, Lancaster, is the diocesan cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Lancaster. Completed in 1859 as a parish Church of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, and raised to the status of a cathedral upon the establishment of the diocese in 1924, it is also a functioning parish. In addition, its grounds host various diocesan offices, including the Bishop's Office, Finance Office, Property Office, and the Diocesan Education Service.

## Gallery

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* A composite photo of Lancaster Cathedral from the northwest

* The Lancaster group for World Youth Day 2005

## See also

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* List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom

## References

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## External links

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* Official Site
* Castlerigg Manor[1] \- Diocesan youth retreat centre.
* Diocesan Youth Service
* Lancaster RC Cathedral
* Diocesan Retreat Centre
* The Latin Mass Society in the RC Diocese of Lancaster Archived 13 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine
* GCatholic.org
* St Mary's Roman Catholic Church and Grotto

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Diocese of Lancaster

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster

* Bishops of Lancaster

* I: Thomas Pearson
* II: Thomas Flynn
* III: Brian Foley
* IV: Jack Brewer
* V: Patrick O'Donoghue
* VI: Michael Campbell (Bishop Emeritus)
* VII: Paul Swarbrick

* Churches

* Lancaster Cathedral \- Cathedral Church of St Peter

* St Mary of Furness Church, Barrow-in-Furness
* Sacred Heart Church, Blackpool
* Church of St Mary and St Michael, Bonds
* Our Lady and St Joseph's Church, Carlisle
* St Mary's Church, Fernyhalgh
* St Mary's Church, Fleetwood
* Church of Holy Trinity and St George, Kendal
* St John the Evangelist's Church, Kirkham
* St Mary's Church, Morecambe
* Church of St John the Evangelist, Poulton-le-Fylde
* Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and the English Martyrs, Preston
* Church of St Walburge, Preston
* St Joseph's Church, Preston
* St Wilfrid's Church, Preston
* Our Lady and St Wilfrid's Church, Warwick Bridge
* St Begh's Church, Whitehaven
* Our Lady and St Michael's Church, Workington
* St Mary's Church, Yealand Conyers

* Patronal Feast of the Diocese

* Our Lady of Lourdes (11 February)
* Saint Cuthbert (20 March)

* Schools

* Austin Friars
* Cardinal Allen Catholic High School
* Cardinal Newman College
* Christ the King Catholic High School, Preston
* Corpus Christi Catholic High School, Fulwood
* Our Lady's Catholic College
* Our Lady's Catholic High School, Fulwood
* St Bede's Catholic High School, Lytham St Annes
* St Benedict's Catholic High School, Hensingham
* St Bernard's Catholic High School
* St John Henry Newman Catholic School
* St Joseph's Catholic High School, Workington
* St Mary's Catholic Academy

* See also:

* Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool
* Castlerigg Manor

* Catholicism portal
* Lancashire portal
* Cumbria portal

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Catholic dioceses in England and Wales

Province of
Birmingham|

* Archdiocese of Birmingham
* Diocese of Clifton
* Diocese of Shrewsbury

Province of
Cardiff|

* Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia
* Diocese of Wrexham

Province of
Liverpool|

* Archdiocese of Liverpool
* Diocese of Hallam
* Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
* Diocese of Lancaster
* Diocese of Leeds
* Diocese of Middlesbrough
* Diocese of Salford

Province of
Southwark|

* Archdiocese of Southwark
* Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
* Diocese of Plymouth
* Diocese of Portsmouth

Province of
Westminster|

* Diocese of Westminster
* Diocese of Brentwood
* Diocese of East Anglia
* Diocese of Northampton
* Diocese of Nottingham

Other Latin
jurisdictions|

* Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain
* Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Eastern Catholic
jurisdictions|

* Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London
* Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain

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