The Bishop of Clifton is the Ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton

Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese centred around the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton....

 in the Province of Birmingham, England.

The see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 is in the suburb of Clifton

Clifton, Bristol

Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...

 in the city of Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 where the bishop's seat

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 is located at the Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul

Clifton Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul is the Roman Catholic cathedral in the English city of Bristol. Located in the Clifton area of the city, it is the seat of the Diocese of Clifton and is known as Clifton Cathedral....

. The bishop of Clifton has jurisdiction over the counties of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 and the city of Bristol.

The current bishop is the Right Reverend Declan Ronan Lang

Declan Ronan Lang

Declan Ronan Lang is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current bishop of Clifton.-Biography:...

, who was appointed

Appointment of Catholic bishops

The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is a complicated process. Outgoing bishops, neighbouring bishops, the faithful, the apostolic nuncio, various members of the Roman Curia, and the pope all have a role in the selection...

 the 9th Bishop of Clifton on 27 February 2001 and consecrated

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 on 28 March 2001. Bishop Lang has taken for his motto Evangelii Nuntiandi meaning "Proclaim the Gospel". When asked why he had chosen this, he said, "It is the opening words from an Apostolic Exhortation of Paul Vl made on 8 December 1975, it is simply, one of the most important statements for the Church in this modern age."

History

The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was created on 30 January 1688 and consisted of the counties of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

 and Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, together with all of the principality of Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. In 1840, the Western District lost terrority on the creation of the Welsh District. On the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy

Universalis Ecclesiae

Universalis Ecclesiae is the incipit of the papal bull of 29 September 1850 by which Pope Pius IX recreated the Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England, which had been extinguished with the death of the last Marian bishop in the reign of Elizabeth I. New names were given to the dioceses, as...

 in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

 by 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...

 in 1850, the Western District was divided into the dioceses of Clifton and Plymouth.

List of bishops of Clifton

Bishops of Clifton
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1850	1851	Joseph William Hendren Joseph William Hendren Joseph William Hendren, O.F.M. was an English Roman Catholic bishop. He served three ecclesiastical jurisdictions, first as the Vicar Apostolic of the Western District , then Bishop of Clifton , and finally Bishop of Nottingham .Born in Birmingham on 19 October 1791, he was ordained a priest in... , O.F.M.	Previously Vicar Apostolic of the Western District (1848–1850). Appointed Appointment of Catholic bishops The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is a complicated process. Outgoing bishops, neighbouring bishops, the faithful, the apostolic nuncio, various members of the Roman Curia, and the pope all have a role in the selection...  the first Bishop of Clifton on 29 September 1850. Translated to Nottingham Bishop of Nottingham Bishop of Nottingham may refer to:* Bishop of Nottingham * Anglican Bishop of Nottingham, former suffragan bishop title* Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, full diocesan bishop...  on 22 June 1851.
1851	1854	Thomas Burgess Thomas Burgess (bishop of Clifton) Thomas Burgess, D.D. was an English Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Clifton from 1851 to 1854.-Early life and ministry:...	Appointed bishop on 27 June 1851 and consecrated on 27 July 1851. Died in office on 27 November 1854.
1854	1857	See vacant
1857	1893	William Hugh Joseph Clifford William Hugh Joseph Clifford William Hugh Joseph Clifford was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1857 to 1893....	Appointed bishop on 29 January 1857 and consecrated on 15 February 1857. Died in office on 14 August 1893.
1894	1901	William Robert Brownlow William Robert Brownlow William Robert Brownlow was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1894 to 1901....	Appointed bishop on 20 March 1894 and consecrated on 1 May 1894. Died in office on 9 November 1901.
1902	1931	George Ambrose Burton George Ambrose Burton George Ambrose Burton was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1902 to 1931....	Appointed bishop on 15 March 1902 and consecrated on 1 May 1902. Died in office on 8 February 1931.
1931	1948	William Lee William Lee (bishop of Clifton) William Lee was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1931 to 1948....	Appointed bishop on 18 December 1931 and consecrated on 26 January 1932. Died in office on 21 September 1948.
1949	1974	Joseph Edward Rudderham Joseph Edward Rudderham Joseph Edward Rudderham was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1949 to 1974....	Appointed bishop on 14 May 1949 and consecrated on 26 July 1949. Retired on 31 August 1974 and died on 24 February 1979.
1974	2001	Mervyn Alban Alexander Mervyn Alexander The Right Reverend Meryvn Alban Alexander was the 8th Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton .He was born on 29 June 1925 in Highbury, London, the eldest son of William and Grace Alexander...	Formerly an auxiliary bishop Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...  of Clifton Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton The Diocese of Northampton is one of the 22 Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales and a Latin Rite suffragan diocese of Westminster. Its see is in Northampton...  (1972–1974). Appointed Bishop of Clifton on 20 December 1974. Retired on 27 February 2001 and died on 14 August 2010.
2001	present	Declan Ronan Lang Declan Ronan Lang Declan Ronan Lang is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current bishop of Clifton.-Biography:...	Appointed bishop on 27 February 2001 and consecrated on 28 March 2001.

External links

• Diocese of Clifton (The Original Catholic Encyclopedia)