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Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle

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Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Dioecesis Hagulstadensis et Novocastrensis
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Coat of arms
Location
Country England
Territory Northumberland
County Durham
Ecclesiastical province Liverpool
Deaneries 18
Statistics
Area 8,438 km2 (3,258 sq mi)
Population
Total
Catholics 		(as of 2019)
2,323,200
167,568 (7.2%)
Parishes 149
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 29 September 1850
(as Hexham)
23 May 1861
(as Hexham and Newcastle)
Cathedral St Mary's Cathedral
Secular priests 194
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop Stephen Wright
Metropolitan Archbishop John Francis Sherrington
Vicar General Rev. Jeff Dodds (North) Rev. Mark Millward (South)
Episcopal Vicars Jeff Dodds
Simon Lerche
Andrew Faley
Adrian Tuckwell
Colm Hayden
Bishops emeritus Robert Byrne
Séamus Cunningham
Map
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle within the Province of Liverpool
Website
rcdhn.org.uk

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle (Latin: Dioecesis Hagulstadensis et Novocastrensis)[1] is a Latin Catholic 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 province of Liverpool and covers the historic boundaries of County Durham and Northumberland.[2]

History

The Diocese of Hexham was revived in 1850 by decree of Pope Pius IX, restoring the Catholic hierarchy to England and Wales. Although the ancient See of Hexham was founded in 678 it had later lapsed. Together with the See of Lindisfarne, founded by Saint Aidan, Hexham formed the main part of the Northumbrian kingdom's ecclesiastical structure. Among the early bishops elected to the see in 684 was Saint Cuthbert, the present-day patron of the modern diocese and, later, Acca of Hexham.[3]

The modern diocese was expanded to include the title of Newcastle in 1861. Originally under the metropolitan See of Westminster, the diocese became part of the new province of Liverpool (often referred to as the Northern Province) in 1911.

On the restoration of the diocese in 1850, Pius IX appointed Bishop William Hogarth, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, to be the first bishop of the diocese. The Parish Church of Saint Mary, Newcastle upon Tyne, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, was selected as the seat for the new bishop, gaining cathedral status.

In 1924, Pope Pius XI withdrew the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland to incorporate them into a newly created Diocese of Lancaster. For this reason, the Lancaster diocese still considers St Cuthbert as one of its principal patrons. Other territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Liverpool to form the new see.

Present

The modern Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle comprises the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham. In this respect, it comprises three cities: Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Sunderland. In 2005, Bishop Dunn reorganised the structure of the diocese and curia. He introduced five episcopal areas. These areas are arranged geographically and are known as Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, Sunderland and East Durham, South Tyneside, Gateshead and North West Durham, and Cleveland and South Durham.

The diocesan curia and chancery are officially based at St Cuthbert's House, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 7PY.

The diocese was also home to the regional seminary for the north of England, Ushaw College, near Durham. The seminary had strong links with the University of Durham which validated the degree courses offered there. The seminary was governed by the bishops of the Northern Province under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Liverpool. However, as the local ordinary, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle always held the position of vice-chairman of governors.

The diocesan patrons are Our Blessed Lady Immaculate (8 December) and Saint Cuthbert, Bishop and Confessor (20 March).

There are presently 214 diocesan priests (57 of whom are retired) and six permanent deacons serving 183 parishes. A number of religious orders are also present in the diocese, including the Passionists, the Jesuits, the Carmelites, Mill Hill Missionaries, the Poor Clares and the Sisters of Mercy.

21st century bishops

In 2004, Kevin Dunn was appointed the 12th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle by Pope John Paul II, and was consecrated on 25 May 2004 at St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne. He appointed the man who would ultimately be his successor, Canon Seamus Cunningham, as vicar general. He also appointed a new chancellor for the curia and a new episcopal vicar for religious.

Following the death of Bishop Dunn on 1 March 2008, the College of Consultors elected Canon Seamus Cunningham as the Diocesan Administrator. On 9 January 2009 it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed him to be the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He received his episcopal ordination on Friday, 20 March 2009 – the feast day of St. Cuthbert – the diocesan patron.[4]

In February 2019, Robert Byrne was appointed as the 14th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. Three years later, in December 2022, he announced his resignation from the position and returned to the congregation at the Oxford Oratory.[5]

The See of Hexham and Newcastle was sede vacante for a short period following Pope Francis' acceptance of the resignation of Robert Byrne in December 2022.[6] On 14 June 2023, it was announced that Pope Francis had appointed Stephen Wright to be the 15th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle on 14 June 2023. He was installed in St Mary's Cathedral on 19 July 2023.[7]

Bishops

Ordinaries

Vicars Apostolic of Northern District

See also Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern District (England).

Bishop of Hexham

See also Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, which includes Bishop of Hexham.

Bishops of Hexham and Newcastle

Coadjutor Vicars Apostolic

Auxiliary Bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

  • George Hilary Brown, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Lancashire District in 1840
  • George Crompton Ambrose Burton, appointed Bishop of Clifton in 1902
  • Robert Cornthwaite, appointed Bishop of Beverley in 1861
  • John Douglass, appointed Vicar Apostolic of London District in 1790
  • Charles Petre Eyre, appointed apostolic delegate and titular archbishop in 1868
  • Robert Gradwell, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of London District in 1828
  • Bernard O'Reilly, appointed Bishop of Liverpool in 1873
  • James Sharples, appointed Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Lancashire District in 1843
  • Gregory Stapleton, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1800
  • William Turner, appointed Bishop of Salford in 1851
  • Nicholas Wiseman, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1840; future Cardinal
  • George Witham, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Midland District in 1702; later returned here as Vicar Apostolic

See also

Canonical status and jurisdiction

Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a diocese of the catholic church of the Catholic Church.[8]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle (Hagulstadensis et Novocastrensis).

Hexham, in Northumberland, England, receives its name from the stream Hextold; its old name, Hagustald, came from another stream, the Halgut, whence the adjective Hagustaldensis used by Bede and medieval writers. It was founded as an abbey by St. Wilfrid of York, in 674, on land given by the Northumbrian queen St. Etheldreda. When the Diocese of York was divided (678) Hexham was made a bishopric for the country between the Rivers Aln and Tees; although, under its first bishop, St. Eata, it remained for a time united with Lindisfarne (founded in 635 by St. Aidan), which diocese extended northwards from the Aln to the Forth. Of the eleven bishops of Hexham who followed St. Eata, six were saints, among them being St. John of Beverley (685-705), St. Wilfrid, who, resigning the See of York, died Bishop of Hexham in 709; and his successor, St. Acca, to whom Venerable Bede dedicated several of his works. The last bishop of this ancient line was Tidfert, who died about 821; no successor was appointed, the condition of the country being too unsettled. A period of disorder followed the Danish devastations, after which Hexham monastery was reconstituted in 1113 as a priory of Austin Canons, which flourished until its dissolution under Henry VIII. Meantime the bishopric had been merged in that of Lindisfarne, which latter see was removed to Chester-le-Street in 883, and thence to Durham in 995.

On the establishment of the present English hierarchy in 1850, the See of Hexham was revived, that of Newcastle (where the cathedral is) being joined to it in 1861. The previous Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, William Hogarth, became its first bishop under the new regime, being followed by James Chadwick (1866-82), John William Bewick (1882-86), and Henry O'Callaghan (1888-89). Bishop Thomas William Wilkinson, consecrated as auxiliary in 1888, succeeded in 1889, and resided at Ushaw College as its president till his death on 17 April, 1909. The present diocese answers to the two medieval Dioceses of Durham and Carlisle, comprising the Counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. Its Catholic population was estimated in 1908 at 179,021, the secular clergy numbering 182, the regular clergy (Benedictines, Dominicans, Redemptorists) 45, and the public churches and chapels (not counting those of communities), 122. It contains three convents of contemplative nuns and numerous schools and institutions conducted by religious. St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, educates some 300 students, clerical and lay; and there is a boys' grammar school at Newcastle. Together with Our Lady Immaculate, the diocese's chief patron is St. Cuthbert, to receive whose incorrupt body Durham's magnificent cathedral was originally built; his ring, now preserved at Ushaw, is worn by the bishop when ordaining. Its long list of native saints includes St. Bede the Venerable, recently proclaimed Doctor of the Church; St. Oswald, king and martyr; St. Godric, hermit; and Blessed Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, with other martyrs of the penal days.

"Northern Catholic Calendar for Hexham and Newcastle Diocese" (Halifax, 1909); "Catholic Directory (London, 1909); BEDE, "Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. PLUMMER (Oxford, 1896); "Hexham Priory, Historians", etc,. "Surtees Society" (Durham, 1864); WILLIAM OF MALMSBURY, "Gesta Pontificum" in "Rolls Series" (London, 1870).

References

  1. Back to citation "Provisio Ecclesiarum" (PDF). Acta Apostolicae Sedis. CI (2): 152. 2 February 2009.
  2. Back to citation "About us". Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  3. Back to citation "Hexham and Newcastle Roman Catholic Diocesan ArchivesBr". The National Archives. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  4. Back to citation "Press Release for the Ordination of Canon Seamus Cunningham". Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  5. Back to citation "Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle announces resignation". The Catholic Church Bishops Conference of England and Wales. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. Back to citation "Rinunce e nomine". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  7. Back to citation "Rt Rev. Stephen Wright". The Catholic Church Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  8. Back to citation Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, official website

54°58′08″N 1°37′08″W / 54.969°N 1.619°W

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