Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury

Catholic diocese in England

Diocese of Shrewsbury

Dioecesis Salopiensis

Coat of arms

Location
Country|  England
Territory|  Shropshire
Cheshire
With parts of:
Greater Manchester
Merseyside
Ecclesiastical province| Province of Birmingham
Coordinates| 52°42′29″N 2°45′14″W﻿ / ﻿52.708°N 2.754°W﻿ / 52.708; -2.754
Statistics
Area| 6,136 km2 (2,369 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics| (as of 2014)
1,923,400
189,827 (9.9%)
Parishes| 92
Information
Denomination| Catholic
Sui iuris church| Latin Church
Rite| Roman Rite
Established| 29 September 1850; 174 years ago (1850-09-29)
Cathedral| Shrewsbury Cathedral
Secular priests| 141
Current leadership
Pope| Francis
Bishop| Mark Davies
Metropolitan Archbishop| Bernard Longley
Vicar General|

* Michael Gannon
* Philip Moor

Episcopal Vicars|

* Michael Gannon
* Philip Moor
* Jonathan Mitchell
* David Roberts

Map

Diocese of Shrewsbury within the Province of Birmingham
Website
dioceseofshrewsbury.org

The Diocese of Shrewsbury (Latin: Dioecesis Salopiensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Province of Birmingham which encompasses the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in the North West and West Midlands of England.

The diocese includes rural areas of Shropshire as well as Manchester south of the River Mersey and other urban areas such as Birkenhead, Stockport and Ellesmere Port. The current bishop, Mark Davies, succeeded on 1 October 2010.[1]

## Geographical location

[edit]

The diocese comprises the counties of Shropshire and Cheshire and the parts of Greater Manchester and Merseyside which were formerly in Cheshire. Before 1895, it also included North Wales (then lost for the erection of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia, now, since 1987, in that of Wrexham). In 2007, new pastoral areas and regions were created, replacing the former deaneries.[2]

Region  | Name  | Regional Dean[3]

|
|

A  | Shropshire and Wrekin | Stephan Coonan
B  | Central Cheshire  | John Daly
C  | North Cheshire  | Russell Cooke
D  | South Trafford & Wythenshawe  |
E  | Stockport & Tameside  |
F  | Wirral  |

## Past and present bishops

[edit]

### Ordinaries

[edit]

Main article: Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury

Mark Davies is the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury.

* James Brown (appointed 27 June 1851 – died 14 October 1881)
* Edmund James Knight (appointed 25 April 1882 – resigned 28 May 1895)
* John Carroll (succeeded 11 May 1895 – died 14 January 1897)
* Samuel Webster Allen (appointed 19 April 1897 – died 13 May 1908)
* Hugh Singleton (appointed 1 August 1908 – died 17 December 1934)
* Ambrose James Moriarty (succeeded 17 December 1934 – died 3 June 1949)
* John Aloysius Murphy (succeeded 3 June 1949 – translated to the Archdiocese of Cardiff on 22 August 1961)
* William Eric Grasar (appointed 26 April 1962 – resigned 20 March 1980)
* Joseph Gray (appointed 19 August 1980 – retired 23 June 1995)
* Brian Michael Noble (appointed 23 June 1995 – retired 1 October 2010)
* Mark Davies (current bishop, succeeded 1 October 2010)

### Coadjutor Bishops

[edit]

* John Carroll (1893–1895)
* Mark Davies (2009–2010)
* Ambrose James Moriarty (1931–1934)
* John Aloysius Murphy (1948–1949)

### Auxiliary Bishops

[edit]

* John (Jack) Brewer (1971–1983), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster
* Edmund James Knight (1879–1882), appointed Bishop here

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

[edit]

* Philip Anthony Egan, appointed Bishop of Portsmouth in 2012
* Francis Edward Joseph Mostyn, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Wales, Wales in 1895
* Gerard William Tickle, appointed Bishop of Great Britain, Military in 1963

## Catholic education in the diocese

[edit]

There are 112 Catholic schools and colleges serving 43,198 pupils. [4]

School Type  | Voluntary Aided Primary  | Voluntary Aided Secondary  | Sixth Form Colleges  | Independent Schools  | Primary Academies  | Secondary Academies

|
|
|
|
|
|

Number of schools  | 76  | 8  | 1  | 6  | 10  | 11
Number of Students  | 18,768  | 7,236  | 2,179  | 1,217  | 3,027  | 10,771

* All figures are as of August 2019

## Patron saints of the diocese

[edit]

1) Our Lady, Help of Christians – 24 May
2) Saint Winefride – 3 November

## Parish pastoral areas and regions

[edit]

On 1 October 2007, local deaneries were abolished and parishes grouped together to form 'Pastoral Areas', not as a replacement of parishes but to strengthen local Catholic communities, ensuring the sharing of services and groups and to avoid unnecessary duplication.
Each LPT (local pastoral team [see below]) has two co-leaders (one priest; one layperson) and each region is headed by a Regional Dean.[2]

### Region A – Shropshire & Wrekin Catholic Region

[edit]

Regional Dean: Stephen Coonan

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

A  | LPA 1  | Shrewsbury Cathedral (http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/)

Monkmoor, St Winefride
Harlescott, Our Lady of Pity

| St Mary's

St Winefride's

| Holy Trinity Academy  | Royal Shrewsbury

Shropshire Nuffield
S & Mid W Hospice
\+ Prison
\+ Forces

A  | LPA 2  | Ellesmere, St Michael

Farndon
Malpas, St Joseph
Oswestry, Our Lady
Shawbury, St Andrew & St Peter
Tattenhall, St Plegmund
Wem, Our Lady
Whitchurch, St George

| Our Lady & St Oswald  | Holy Trinity Academy  | Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt H

\+ Forces

A  | LPA 3  | Church Stretton, St Milburga

Cleobury Mortimer, St Elizabeth
Ludlow, St Peter
(http://freespace.virgin.net/stpeters.ludlow/)
Plowden, St Walburga

| Moor Park  | Holy Trinity Academy  |
A  | LPA 4  | Bridgnorth, St John

Broseley
Donnington, Our Lady

Telford, The Good Shepherd
(Madeley, Stirchley & Dawley)
Wellington, St Patrick (http://www.stpatrickstelford.com/)

| St John's

St Luke's
St Mary's, Madeley
St Patrick's

| Holy Trinity Academy  | Princess Royal
A  | LPA 5  | Albrighton, St Joseph

Market Drayton, Ss Thomas &
Newport, Ss Peter & Paul
Shifnal, St Mary

| Ss Peter & Paul's

St Mary's, Madeley
St Winefride's

| Holy Trinity Academy  | (+Cosford)

\+ Stoke Heath
\+ TernHill

### Region B – Central Cheshire

[edit]

Regional Dean: John Daly

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

B  | LPA 6  | Alderley Edge, St Pius X

Handforth, St Benedict
(http://www.stbenedictshandforth.co.uk/)
Knutsford, St Vincent
(http://www.stvincentsknutsford.org/)
Wilmslow, St Teresa

| St Benedict's

St Vincent's

| All Hallows CH

St Nicholas CH

| Styal Prison
B  | LPA 7  | Bollington, St Gregory

Congleton, St Mary
Disley
Macclesfield, St Alban
Macclesfield, St Edward
Poynton, St Paul
Whaley Bridge, Sacred Heart

| St Alban's

St Edward's
St Gregory's
St Mary's
St Mary's

| All Hallows CH  | Macclesfield District Gen

East Cheshire Hospice

B  | LPA 8  | Barnton, Our Lady of Fatima

Holmes Chapel, St Margaret
Middlewich, St Mary
Northwich, St Wilfrid
Weaverham, St Bede
Winsford, St Joseph

| St Bede's

St Joseph's
St Mary's
St Wilfrid's

| St Nicholas CH  | St Luke's Hospice
B  | LPA 9  | Alsager, St Gabriel

Crewe, St Mary
(http://www.stmaryscrewe.org.uk/)
Nantwich, St Anne
Sandbach, St Winefride

| St Anne's

St Gabriel's
St Mary's

| St Thomas More CH  | Leighton Hosp

\+ M'chester Metropolitan Univ
Crewe & Alsager site

### Region C – North Cheshire

[edit]

Regional Dean: Russell Cooke

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

C  | LPA 10  | Ellesmere Port, Our Lady

Ellesmere Port, St Bernard
Ellesmere Port, St Saviour
Hooton, St Mary

| Our Lady star of the Sea

St Bernard's
St Mary of the Angels
St Saviour's Infants
St Saviour's Juniors

| Ellesmere Port Catholic High  | Ellesmere Port Hospice

Good Shepherd Hospice

C  | LPA 11  | Blacon, St Theresa

Chester, St Francis
Chester, St Werburgh
Lache, St Clare
Mouldsworth
Plas Newton, St Columba
Tarporley, St Thomas Becket
Waverton

| St Clare's

St Theresa's
St Werburgh & St Col's
St Wilfrid's

| Chester Catholic High School

St Nicholas Catholic High

| Countess of Chester

Grosvenor Nuffield
\+ Forces

C  | LPA 12  | Castlefields, St Augustine

Frodsham, St Luke
Halton Brook, Holy Spirit
Murdishaw, St Martin
Palace Fields, Our Lady
Runcorn, St Edward

| Holy Spirit

Our Lady's
St Augustine's
St Clement's
St Edward's
St Luke's
St Martin's

| Chester Catholic High School

St Chad's Catholic High

| Halton General Hospital

Halton Haven Hospice

C  | LPA 13  | Appleton, St Monica

Latchford, Our Lady & St Augustine
Lymm, St Winefride

| Our Lady's

St Augustine's
St Monica's

| Cardinal Newman Catholic High  | North Cheshire Hospital

\+ Thorn Cross YOI

### Region D – South Trafford & Wythenshawe

[edit]

Regional Dean: John Rafferty

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

D  | LPA 14  | Baguley, Sacred Heart & St Peter

Benchill, St John & St Thomas
Northenden, St Hilda & St Aidan
Peel Hall, St Elizabeth
Woodhouse Park, St Anthony

| Sacred Heart

St Aidan's
St Anthony's
St Elizabeth's
St John's
St Peter's

| St Paul's CH  | Wythenshawe General
D  | LPA 15  | Altrincham, St Vincent

Hale Barns, Holy Angels
Timperley, St John
West Timperley, St Hugh

| St Hugh's

St Vincent's Infants
St Vincent's Juniors
Loreto Prep
St Ambrose Prep

| Blessed Thomas Holford

St Ambrose College
Loreto Grammar School

| St Ann's Hospice
D  | LPA 16  | Ashton-on-Mersey, All Saints

Partington, Our Lady
Sale, St Joseph
Sale, St Margaret Ward
Sale Moor, Holy Family

| All Saints

Holy Family
Our Lady of Lourdes
St Joseph's
St Margaret Ward's

| Blessed Thomas Holford

St Ambrose College
Loreto Grammar School

### Region E – Stockport & Tameside

[edit]

Regional Dean:

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

E  | LPA 17  | Brinnington, St Bernadette

Marple, Holy Spirit
Offerton, St Philip
Romiley, Our Lady & St Christopher [1]
Stockport, St Joseph

| St Joseph's

St Bernadette's
Cheadle Infants & Junior
St Philip's
St Christopher's
(St Mary's, Marple Bridge)

| Harrytown CH

Aquinas College

| Stepping Hill Hospital

Cherry Tree Hospital

E  | LPA 18  | Dukinfield, St Mary

Hattersley, St James
Hyde, St Paul
Stalybridge, St Peter
Stalybridge, St Raphael

| St James'

St Mary's
St Paul's
St Peter's
St Raphael's

| All Saints CC

E  | LPA 19  | Cheadle, St Chad

Cheadle Hulme, St Ann
Heald Green, Christ Church
(http://www.christchurchhg.co.uk/)

| Cheadle Infants

Cheadle Juniors

| St James CH

Aquinas College

| Cheadle Royal Hospital

Stepping Hill Hospital
Alexandra Hospital
St Ann's Hospice

E  | LPA 20  | Adswood, St Ambrose

Bramhall, St Vincent
Hazel Grove, St Peter
Edgeley, Our Lady

| Cheadle Infant

Cheadle Primary
Our Lady's
St Ambrose
St Peter's
St Simon's

| Harrytown CH

St James CH
Aquinas College

| Stepping Hill Hospital

### Region F – Wirral

[edit]

Regional Dean: Nick Kern

Region  | Pastoral Area  | Parishes/Mass Centres  | Primary Schools  | Secondary Schools  | Hospitals & Other Chaplaincies

|
|
|
|
|

F  | LPA 21  | Leasowe, Our Lady of Lourdes

Liscard, St Alban
New Brighton, Ss Peter & Paul
Seacombe, Our Lady & St Joseph
Wallasey Village, English Martyrs

| Our Lady of Lourdes

St Alban's
St Joseph's
Ss Peter & Paul's

| St Mary's

St Anselm's
Upton Hall

F  | LPA 22  | Moreton, Sacred Heart

Greasby, Our Lady of Pity
West Kirby, St Agnes
Hoylake, Ss Catherine & Martina

| Sacred Heart

Our Lady of Lourdes
St Alban's
St Joseph's
Ss Peter & Paul's

| St Mary's

St Anselm's
Upton Hall

F  | LPA 23  | Heswall, Our Lady & St John

Neston, St Winefride
Pensby, Holy Family

| Our Lady of Lourdes

St Alban's
St Joseph's
Ss Peter & Paul's

| St Mary's

Chester Catholic High School
St Anselm's
Upton Hall

| Murrayfield Hospital
F  | LPA 24  | Bebington, St Luke

Bromborough, Christ the King
New Ferry, St John
Rock Ferry, St Anne

| St Anne's

Christ the King
St John's Infants
St John's Juniors

| St John Plessington

St Anselm's
Upton Hall

| Clatterbridge Hospital

St John's Hospice

F  | LPA 25  | Birkenhead, St Joseph

Noctorum, St Peter
Oxton, Holy Name
Upton, St Joseph
Woodchurch, St Michael & All Angels

| St Joseph's, B'head

St Joseph's, Upton
St Michael's
St Peter's
Redcourt

| St John Plessington

St Mary's
St Anselm's
Upton Hall

| Arrowe Park Hospital
F  | LPA 26  | Birkenhead, Holy Cross & St Paul

Birkenhead, Our Lady
Birkenhead, St Werburgh & St Laurence

| Holy Cross

Our Lady's
St Laurence's
St Paul's
St Werburgh's

| Plessington

St Mary's
St Anselm's
Upton Hall

## Modern history

[edit]

Shrewsbury Cathedral was opened in 1856

See also: Catholic Church in England and Wales

The first bishop of the diocese was James Brown, president of Sedgeley Park School, who was consecrated 27 July 1851. Out of a total population of 1,082,617, Catholics numbered about 20,000. There were thirty churches and chapels attended by resident priests, and six stations; one convent, that of the Faithful Companions of Jesus, in Birkenhead, to which was attached a boarding school for young women, and also a small day-school for poor children. There were Jesuits at Holywell, who also had a college at St. Bruno's, Flintshire, and a Benedictine at Acton Burnell. When Brown celebrated the jubilee of his consecration, the secular priests had increased to sixty-six and the regulars to thirty-two. Instead of one religious house of men and one of women, there were now four of men and nine of women; and many elementary schools had been provided for the needs of Catholic children.

In 1852 the bitter feeling caused by the re-establishment of the hierarchy found vent in serious riots at Stockport. On 29 June a large mob attacked the Church of St Philip and St James; they broke the windows and attempted to force in the doors, but before they could effect an entrance, Randolph Frith, the rector, succeeded in removing the Blessed Sacrament, and secreting it with the chalices, etc., in a small cupboard in the side chapel. He was compelled to flee immediately to the belltower, and, whilst the rabble were destroying whatever they could lay their hands upon, he made his escape along the roof, and descended by the spouting at the back of the presbytery. Much of the church furniture, with vestments, etc., was piled up in the street and burned. At St Michael's, the Host was desecrated, and the pyx and ciborium carried away.

Although the Catholic population of the diocese was 58,013 (as of the early 20th century), Shropshire contributed under 3,000, partly on account of agricultural depression and the consequent flocking to industrial centres. There were ninety clergy, sixteen convents, representatives of four orders of men, eight secondary schools for girls, an orphanage and industrial school for boys, a home for aged poor, a home for penitents, and an orphanage erected in memory of Bishop Knight. At Oakwood Hall, Romiley, a house of retreats for working-men opened and had done important work; and at New Brighton, the nuns of Our Lady of the Cenacle opened a house of retreats for working-women and ladies.

Shropshire is singularly rich in archaeological interest, its pre-Reformation parish churches, the noble ruins of monasteries round the Wrekin, the Roman city of Viroconium (Wroxeter), the lordly castle of Ludlow, giving the county a place apart in the heart of the antiquary. In Shrewsbury itself, where once Grey, Black, and Austin Friars and the Black Monks of St. Benedict had foundations, there is now the cathedral, designed by Edward Pugin. Chester, too, with its streets, black and white houses, and venerable cathedral and city walls, claims the visitor's attention. When the body of Daniel O'Connell was brought back from Genoa, it rested in the old chapel in Queen's Street on its way to Ireland.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* Diocese of Shrewsbury Lourdes Hospitalité
* Diocese of Shrewsbury Lourdes Pilgrimage

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Bishop Mark Davies. Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved on 12 March 2010.
2. ^ a b The Diocese of Shrewsbury – Pastoral, Spiritual & Practical Care to the Local Communities Archived 23 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ The Shrewsbury Voice – Oct 2007
4. ^ Shrewsbury Diocese Handbook 2008
5. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Shrewsbury". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

### Bibliography

[edit]

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Shrewsbury". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

## External links

[edit]

* Website of the Diocese
* Catholic Hierarchy – Diocese Information
* Diocese Vocation Office
* GCatholic.org
* Website of LPA 17 (Holy Family LPA)
* The Web of Our Lady and St Christopher's Romiley

* v
* t
* e

Diocese of Shrewsbury

Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury

Bishops of Shrewsbury

* I: James Brown
* II: Edmund Knight
* III: John Carroll
* IV: Samuel Allen
* V: Hugh Singleton
* VI: Ambrose Moriarty
* VII: John Murphy
* VIII: William Grasar
* IX: Joseph Gray
* X: Brian Noble
* XI: Mark Davies

Churches

* Shrewsbury Cathedral – Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara

* Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Birkenhead
* St Werburgh, Birkenhead
* St Columba, Chester
* St Francis, Chester
* St Werburgh, Chester
* St Mary, Congleton
* St Mary, Crewe
* St Mary of the Angels, Hooton
* St Alban, Macclesfield
* St Mary, Madeley
* St Cuthbert by the Forest, Mouldsworth
* St Peter and St Paul, New Brighton
* St Peter and St Paul, Newport
* St Anne, Rock Ferry
* St Winefride, Sandbach
* Our Lady and the Apostles, Stockport
* St Joseph, Stockport
* English Martyrs, Wallasey
* Our Lady Star of the Sea, Wallasey
* St Alban, Wallasey

Patronal Feasts of the Diocese

* Our Lady, Help of Christians (24 May)
* Saint Winefride (3 November)

Schools

* All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield
* All Saints Catholic College, Dukinfield
* Aquinas College, Stockport
* Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic and Church of England Academy
* Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College
* Cardinal Newman Catholic High School, Warrington
* Chester Catholic High School
* Ellesmere Port Catholic High School
* Harrytown Catholic High School
* Holy Trinity Academy, Telford
* Loreto Grammar School
* Moor Park School
* St Ambrose College
* St Anselm's College
* St Gregory's Catholic High School
* St James' Catholic High School, Stockport
* St John Plessington Catholic College
* St Nicholas Catholic High School
* St Paul's Catholic High School
* St Thomas More Catholic School, Crewe

See also

* Diocese of Shrewsbury Lourdes Hospitalité
* Diocese of Shrewsbury Lourdes Pilgrimage
* Curzon Park Abbey

* Catholicism portal
* Cheshire portal

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