Archdiocese of Southwark
Encyclopedia
Archbishop of Southwark
The Archbishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in England. As such he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Southwark....
. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan Province
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
of Southwark, which covers the South of England.
Location
The archdiocese covers the London boroughLondon borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
s south of the Thames, the county of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and the Medway Unitary Authority
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
.
Boundaries
The diocese is divided into three pastoral areas and 20 deaneries, each of which contain a number of parishes:- Kent Pastoral Area:
- Canterbury: Ashford, Ashford South, Canterbury, Faversham, Herne Bay, Hersden, Whitstable.
- Chatham: Chatham, Gillingham, Parkwood and Wigmore, Rainham, Rochester, Sheppey, Sittingbourne, Strood, Walderslade.
- Dover: Aylesham, Buckland, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Folkestone West, Hythe, Mongeham.
- Gravesend: Dartford, Dartford-St Vincent's, Gravesend, Hartley, Meopham, Northfleet, Swanley.
- Maidstone: Bearsted and Harrietsham, Cranbrook, Goudhurst, Maidstone, Maidstone South, Tenterden, West Malling.
- Thanet: Birchington, Broadstairs, Cliftonville, Margate, Ramsgate and Minster, Westgate.
- Tunbridge Wells: Edenbridge, Paddock Wood, Sevenoaks, Southborough, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Westerham.
- South East Pastoral Area:
- Bexley: Bexley, Bexleyheath, Blackfen, Bostall Park, Crayford, Erith, Sidcup, Welling.
- Bromley: Anerley, Beckenham, Biggin Hill, Bromley, Bromley Common, Chislehurst, Chislehurst West, Farnborough, Hayes, Orpington, Petts Wood, St Mary and St Paul's Cray, West Wickham.
- Camberwell: Camberwell, Dulwich, Dulwich Wood Park, Herne Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Peckham Rye.
- Greenwich: Abbey Wood-St Benet's, Abbey Wood-St David's, Blackheath, Charlton, Eltham, Eltham Well Hall, Greenwich, Greenwich East, Kidbrooke, Mottingham, Plumstead, Plumstead Common, Shooters Hill, Thamesmead Central, Thamesmead South, Woolwich.
- Lambeth: Brixton, Brixton Hill, Clapham, Clapham Park, Italian Mission, Norbury, Norwood West, Pollards Hill, Stockwell, Streatham, Streatham Hill.
- Lewisham: Beckenham Hill, Brockley, Catford, Deptford, Downham, Forest Hill, Lee, Lewisham, Sydenham, Sydenham Kirkdale.
- South West Pastoral Area:
- Balham: Balham, Battersea Park, Battersea West, Clapham Common, Earlsfield, Tooting, Tooting Bec, Wandsworth, Wandsworth East Hill.
- Cathedral: Cathedral, Bermondsey-Dockhead, Bermondsey-Melior Street, Bermondsey South, Borough, Kennington Park, Rotherhithe, Surrey Docks, Vauxhall, Walworth, Waterloo.
- Croydon: Addiscombe, Coulsdon, Croydon South, Croydon West, New Addington, Norwood South, Norwood Upper, Old Coulsdon, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Thornton Heath, Waddon.
- Kingston: Chessington, Kingston, Kingston Hill, New Malden, Norbiton, Surbiton, Tolworth.
- Merton: Colliers Wood, Merton, Mitcham, Morden, Tooting (Links Road), Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon South.
- Mortlake: Barnes, East Sheen, Ham, Kew, Mortlake, Putney, Richmond, Roehampton, Wimbledon Common.
- Sutton: Carshalton, Carshalton Beeches, Cheam, North Cheam, Sutton, Sutton Green, Wallington, Worcester Park.
History
Southwark was one of the dioceses established at the restoration of Catholic hierarchical structures in 1851 by Pope Pius IXPope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
. The areas that now comprise the Diocese of Portsmouth
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The episcopal see is the Portsmouth Cathedral and is headed by the Bishop of Portsmouth...
and the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton subsequently separated.
The original cathedral
The Papists ActPapists Act 1778
The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain and was the first Act for Catholic Relief. Later in 1778 It was also enacted by the Irish parliament....
of 1778 brought a certain limited freedom to those of the faith. Priests no longer moved in fear of imprisonment. Roman Catholics could run their own schools and could once more acquire property. In protest against the Act, Lord George Gordon
Lord George Gordon
Lord George Gordon was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780....
, on 2 June 1780, gathered a large crowd in St George's Fields
St George's Fields
St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in South London, England.Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south-side of the Thames, which was low lying marshland unsuitable for even agricultural purposes. As such it was part of the extensive holdings of the king, it is difficult...
to march on Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. Refused a hearing, they became violent and so began a week of burning, plundering and killing in which many Roman Catholic chapels and houses were destroyed. There is a tradition that the high altar of the cathedral stands on the spot where the march began.
In 1786 there was only one Roman Catholic chapel in the whole of south London, located at Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
. It was then that Fr Thomas Walsh, a Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
priest, for £20 a year hired a room in Bandyleg Walk (near where the Southwark fire station now stands). Within two years, the numbers attending the little chapel had increased so rapidly that a new building became essential. In 1793 a large chapel dedicated to St George was opened in the London Road at a cost of £2,000. It was designed by James Taylor of Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. According to tradition it was here that the first High Mass
High Mass
High Mass may mean:*Solemn Mass, a Tridentine Mass celebrated with deacon and subdeacon *Missa Cantata, a sung Tridentine Mass without deacon and subdeacon...
was celebrated in London, outside the chapels of ambassadors, since the time of King James II of England. The occasion was the Solemn Requiem sung for the repose of the soul of Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, who was executed on 21 January 1793.
It was to St George's that Fr Thomas Doyle came in 1820, when the congregation stood at around 7,000. He became the First Chaplain in 1829. In the same year, the Catholic Emancipation Act removed nearly all the legal disabilities which Catholics had suffered for 250 years.
As Fr Doyle's congregation increased to 15,000 by 1829, the idea grew in his mind of a great church with the dimensions of a long and lofty cathedral. By 1839 enough money had been collected to make a start and the present site in St George's Fields
St George's Fields
St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in South London, England.Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south-side of the Thames, which was low lying marshland unsuitable for even agricultural purposes. As such it was part of the extensive holdings of the king, it is difficult...
(then an open space) was purchased for £3,200.
AWN Pugin, the noted architect of the Gothic Revival, was commissioned to design the church. Unfortunately, lack of funds prevented the committee from accepting his first design of a cruciform cathedral on a grand scale, and less ambitious plans had to be prepared. Work began on the old cathedral in 1840, the foundation stone being laid on 8 September. The church was solemnly opened by Bishop Nicholas Wiseman (later Cardinal Wiseman) on 4 July 1848. To mark the occasion Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
sent a golden chalice and paten as a gift.
Two years later Pope Pius restored the English Roman Catholic hierarchy and St George's was chosen as the Cathedral Church
St George's Cathedral, Southwark
St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of Southwark, south London.The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Province of Southwark which covers the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth...
of the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Southwark, which was to cover the whole of Southern England. For the next half-century, until the opening of Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
, St George's was the centre of Roman Catholic life in London.
Thomas Grant was made the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Southwark; Fr Doyle became the Provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
and Administrator, and remained so until his death on 6 June 1879. He is buried in the crypt. The new cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Butt on 7 November 1894 and on that day every year the feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral is celebrated throughout the diocese.
Archbishop
As of 10 June 2010, the current archbishop is Peter Smith. His predecessor, Kevin McDonald, led the archdiocese until December 4, 2009, when he submitted his resignation in keeping with part 2 of canon 401, which provides for the retirement of a diocesan bishop on grounds of ill health or for other grave reasons. There are 3 auxiliary bishops: John HineJohn Hine
John Hine is a Roman Catholic bishop in England. He is currently serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Southwark, and he holds the Titular See of Beverley.-Early life:...
, titular Bishop of Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, Patrick Lynch
Patrick Lynch (Roman Catholic Bishop)
Patrick Kevin Lynch is one of the Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Southwark.- Early life and priesthood :...
SS.CC.
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a Roman Catholic religious order of brothers, priests, and nuns...
, titular bishop of Castrum, and Paul Hendricks
Paul Hendricks
Paul Hendricks is a British Roman Catholic clergyman, currently serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark and Titular Bishop of Rosemarkie.- Early life :...
, titular Bishop of Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
. These have particular pastoral responsibility in Kent, South East London and South West London respectively.
Education
The Archdiocese is the foundation responsible for over 170 Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled schools in the diocese, and is the sponsor of two schools under the English academy programme.