Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton
Encyclopedia
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
.
The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol
and the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire
, Somerset
, and Wiltshire
, an area of 4215 square miles (10,916.8 km²). Practically the Diocese stretches from Stow in the Wold in the north to Minehead & Watchet in the South. The most north-westerly parishes are in the Forest of Dean, while Marlborough near Swindon is one of the most easterly parishes. The City of Bristol, of which Clifton is a suburb, is the largest centre of population within the Diocese. Swindon
is the next biggest population centre. Other well known cities and towns in the diocese include Bath, Wells
, Cheltenham
, Gloucester
, Salisbury
, Taunton
and Weston-super-Mare
.
The Clifton Diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage
.
ended the Catholic hierarchy in England by the mid-16th century. In 1622 the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith created an apostolic vicariate
for the whole of England, which was divided into four districts in 1688. The Western District, comprising the whole of Wales and the present Dioceses of Plymouth and Clifton, was by far the poorest. The hierarchy was restored in 1850 by Pope Pius IX
, and the Western District was created the Diocese of Clifton, so-called because the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
made it illegal for Catholic dioceses to use the same title as current or former Anglican dioceses, despite the fact that the Diocese of Clifton had its Cathedral Church
within the City of Bristol. The heretofore apostolic vicar William Joseph Hendren appointed the first Bishop.
In 1830, in an attempt to ensure a supply of priests for the District, Bishop Peter Baines, the Vicar-Apostolic, had bought the Prior Park
estate near Bath and had established there a school and a seminary
, now Prior Park College
. Although an academic success the College was a financial disaster. Bishop Hendren, resigned in 1851 realising his inability to do anything about the huge debts on the College. His successor, Bishop Thomas Burgess, died in 1854 without doing anything to solve the problem.
A Decree of the Sacred College promulgated on 22 December 1855, prevented the appointment of a new Bishop of Clifton until the problems of the College had been solved. Instead, an Administrator was appointed who would manage the affairs of the Diocese until a Bishop was appointed. He was Archbishop Errington, Co-Adjutor to Cardinal Wiseman the Archbishop of Westminster. He arrived at Prior Park at the end of October, 1855, but was not able to do anything to preserve the College. A Court Order was enforced against the College for non-payment of rent, and the contents of the College were sold by auction, and the premises vacated.
The problem of Prior Park having been settled, the new Bishop of Clifton was appointed. William Clifford, the second son of Lord Clifford of Chudleigh in Devon, was consecrated by Pope Pius IX
on 15 February 1857, and enthroned at the Pro-cathedral on 17 March 1857. For the next 36 years he guided the Diocese to prosperity.
The Pro-cathedral
had an unfortunate history. Work on the building started in 1834 but ceased the following year when the foundations failed. The half-finished building was abandoned in 1843 when a second attempt to reinforce the foundations again failed. Bishop William Ullathorne, Vicar-Apostolic from 1846-1848, had a roof placed on the half-finished building so that it could be used as a church, but Bishop Clifford, with the advice of the architect Charles Hansom, had it converted into a reasonable Pro-cathedral. He also re-purchased Prior Park and re-opened the school and the seminary, much of the expense being found by the Bishop's family. Bishop Clifford died in 1893. His successor, Bishop William Brownlow, was consecrated in 1894 and died in 1901.
Brownlow's successor, Bishop George Ambrose Burton, a priest of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
, was Bishop of Clifton for the next 29 years. An outstanding scholar, he was an authority on ancient manuscripts and catalogued the documents which now form the basis of the Diocesan Archives. He saw the magnificent Benedictine
Downside Abbey
completed and he welcomed a second Benedictine community when the convert community from Caldey Island
came to the Diocese to settle at Prinknash Abbey
.
Bishop William Lee, who had been secretary to Bishop Burton, succeeded him in 1931. During his 16 years as Bishop, he founded 72 new parishes and Mass Centres. His successor, Bishop Joseph Rudderham, a priest of the Diocese of Northampton
, was consecrated at Clifton on 26 July 1949. The financial demands made on the people of the Diocese to provide new schools to comply with the provisions of the 1944 Education Act resulted in expenditure of £332,000 between 1949 and 1960. In spite of these demands, the building of a new Cathedral was undertaken in 1968. On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 1973, in the presence of a vast gathering of religious and civic dignitaries, Bishop Rudderham took possession of the new Clifton Cathedral
, which now graces the Bristol skyline.
Bishop Rudderham resigned his See in August 1974 and died in retirement in February 1979. His Auxiliary Bishop, Bishop Mervyn Alexander
was appointed eighth Bishop of Clifton in December 1974 and guided the Diocese for the next 27 years. He then retired to Weston-super-Mare as parish priest at St Joseph's. In March 2001 Bishop Declan Lang was ordained as 9th Bishop of Clifton.
who was born on 15 April 1950 in Cowes, Isle of Wight
. From 1975 he was a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth
, serving as Vicar General
from 1996. He was appointed Bishop of Clifton in March 2001.
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
centred around the Cathedral Church of Saints 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....
in 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...
.
The diocese covers the City and County 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...
and the ceremonial 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...
, an area of 4215 square miles (10,916.8 km²). Practically the Diocese stretches from Stow in the Wold in the north to Minehead & Watchet in the South. The most north-westerly parishes are in the Forest of Dean, while Marlborough near Swindon is one of the most easterly parishes. The City of Bristol, of which Clifton is a suburb, is the largest centre of population within the Diocese. Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
is the next biggest population centre. Other well known cities and towns in the diocese include Bath, Wells
Wells
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406, it has had city status since 1205...
, Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
and Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
.
The Clifton Diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage
Catholic Association Pilgrimage
The Catholic Association of the UK, abbreviated to the CA, has been around in one form or another since 1881 and ran its first pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1901...
.
Statistics
The Diocese has 107 Parishes, or the equivalent, in the Diocese. Many of the parishes have chapels-of-ease or other Mass centres attached adding a total of 99 chapels to the 107 parish churches. These parishes are run by a mixture of Diocesan priests and priests who belong to Religious Orders such as the Benedictines, Franciscans and others.Diocesan boundaries
The diocese is divided into 13 deaneries, each of which contain a number of parishes:- Bath
- Bristol East
- Bristol North West
- Bristol South
- Cheltenham
- Glastonbury
- Gloucester
- Salisbury
- Stroud
- Swindon
- Taunton
- Trowbridge
- Weston-super-Mare
History
The English ReformationEnglish Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
ended the Catholic hierarchy in England by the mid-16th century. In 1622 the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith created an apostolic vicariate
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
for the whole of England, which was divided into four districts in 1688. The Western District, comprising the whole of Wales and the present Dioceses of Plymouth and Clifton, was by far the poorest. The hierarchy was restored in 1850 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...
, and the Western District was created the Diocese of Clifton, so-called because the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1851 as an anti-Roman Catholic measure, repealed 20 years later by the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871...
made it illegal for Catholic dioceses to use the same title as current or former Anglican dioceses, despite the fact that the Diocese of Clifton had its Cathedral Church
Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Apostles
The Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Apostles was the Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Bristol, England from 1850 to 1973.The Pro-Cathedral was replaced in 1973 by the Cathedral Church of SS...
within the City of Bristol. The heretofore apostolic vicar William Joseph Hendren appointed the first Bishop.
In 1830, in an attempt to ensure a supply of priests for the District, Bishop Peter Baines, the Vicar-Apostolic, had bought the Prior Park
Prior Park
Prior Park is a Palladian house, designed by John Wood, the Elder in the 1730s and 1740s for Ralph Allen, on a hill overlooking Bath, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
estate near Bath and had established there a school and a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
, now Prior Park College
Prior Park College
Prior Park College is a Roman Catholic co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils.It is situated on a hill overlooking the city of Bath, in Somerset, in south-west England...
. Although an academic success the College was a financial disaster. Bishop Hendren, resigned in 1851 realising his inability to do anything about the huge debts on the College. His successor, Bishop Thomas Burgess, died in 1854 without doing anything to solve the problem.
A Decree of the Sacred College promulgated on 22 December 1855, prevented the appointment of a new Bishop of Clifton until the problems of the College had been solved. Instead, an Administrator was appointed who would manage the affairs of the Diocese until a Bishop was appointed. He was Archbishop Errington, Co-Adjutor to Cardinal Wiseman the Archbishop of Westminster. He arrived at Prior Park at the end of October, 1855, but was not able to do anything to preserve the College. A Court Order was enforced against the College for non-payment of rent, and the contents of the College were sold by auction, and the premises vacated.
The problem of Prior Park having been settled, the new Bishop of Clifton was appointed. William Clifford, the second son of Lord Clifford of Chudleigh in Devon, was consecrated 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...
on 15 February 1857, and enthroned at the Pro-cathedral on 17 March 1857. For the next 36 years he guided the Diocese to prosperity.
The Pro-cathedral
Pro-cathedral
A pro-cathedral is a parish church that is temporarily serving as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese.-Usage:In Ireland, the term is used to specifically refer to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin since the Reformation, when Christ Church...
had an unfortunate history. Work on the building started in 1834 but ceased the following year when the foundations failed. The half-finished building was abandoned in 1843 when a second attempt to reinforce the foundations again failed. Bishop William Ullathorne, Vicar-Apostolic from 1846-1848, had a roof placed on the half-finished building so that it could be used as a church, but Bishop Clifford, with the advice of the architect Charles Hansom, had it converted into a reasonable Pro-cathedral. He also re-purchased Prior Park and re-opened the school and the seminary, much of the expense being found by the Bishop's family. Bishop Clifford died in 1893. His successor, Bishop William Brownlow, was consecrated in 1894 and died in 1901.
Brownlow's successor, Bishop George Ambrose Burton, a priest of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite centred around St Mary's Cathedral in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in England...
, was Bishop of Clifton for the next 29 years. An outstanding scholar, he was an authority on ancient manuscripts and catalogued the documents which now form the basis of the Diocesan Archives. He saw the magnificent Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey
The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation. One of its main apostolates is a school for children aged nine to eighteen...
completed and he welcomed a second Benedictine community when the convert community from Caldey Island
Caldey Island
Caldey Island lies south of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales.The island is home to a small village, but is best known for its monastery. Caldey Island is separated from the mainland by the Caldey Sound which is 1 km to 2 km wide between Caldey Island and the coast of Pembrokeshire...
came to the Diocese to settle at Prinknash Abbey
Prinknash Abbey
Prinknash Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery situated in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the village of Cranham....
.
Bishop William Lee, who had been secretary to Bishop Burton, succeeded him in 1931. During his 16 years as Bishop, he founded 72 new parishes and Mass Centres. His successor, Bishop Joseph Rudderham, a priest of the Diocese of Northampton
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...
, was consecrated at Clifton on 26 July 1949. The financial demands made on the people of the Diocese to provide new schools to comply with the provisions of the 1944 Education Act resulted in expenditure of £332,000 between 1949 and 1960. In spite of these demands, the building of a new Cathedral was undertaken in 1968. On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 1973, in the presence of a vast gathering of religious and civic dignitaries, Bishop Rudderham took possession of the new Clifton Cathedral
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....
, which now graces the Bristol skyline.
Bishop Rudderham resigned his See in August 1974 and died in retirement in February 1979. His Auxiliary Bishop, Bishop Mervyn 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...
was appointed eighth Bishop of Clifton in December 1974 and guided the Diocese for the next 27 years. He then retired to Weston-super-Mare as parish priest at St Joseph's. In March 2001 Bishop Declan Lang was ordained as 9th Bishop of Clifton.
Current bishop
The current bishop is The Right Reverend Declan Ronan LangDeclan 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 born on 15 April 1950 in Cowes, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. From 1975 he was a priest in the Roman Catholic 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...
, serving as Vicar General
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
from 1996. He was appointed Bishop of Clifton in March 2001.