Archdiocese of Birmingham

Historical Details

• Vicariate Apostolic of Midland District
  • Erected: 30 January 1688
  • Country: England
  • Region: Great Britain
  • Description: Counties of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridge with Ely, Norfolk, Suffolk, Huntingdonshire, Rutland, and Leicestershire.

• Vicariate Apostolic of Central District
  • Name Changed: 3 July 1840
  • Country: England
  • Region: Great Britain
  • Description: Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, and Shropshire.

• Diocese of Birmingham
  • Latin Name: Birminghamiensis
  • Elevated: 29 September 1850
  • Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Westminster
  • Country: England
  • Region: Great Britain
  • Description: Counties of Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire

Past and Present Ordinaries

• Bonaventure Joseph Giffard † (28 Jan 1688 Confirmed - 14 Mar 1703 Appointed, Vicar Apostolic of London District, England)
• George Witham † (12 Aug 1702 Appointed - 6 Apr 1716 Appointed, Vicar Apostolic of Northern District, England)
• John Talbot Stonor † (18 Sep 1715 Appointed - 29 Mar 1756 Died)
• John Joseph Hornyold † (29 Mar 1756 Succeeded - 26 Dec 1778 Died)
• Thomas Joseph Talbot † (26 Dec 1778 Succeeded - 24 Feb 1795 Died)
• Charles Berington † (24 Feb 1795 Succeeded - 8 Jun 1798 Died)
• Gregory Stapleton † (7 Nov 1800 Appointed - 23 May 1802 Died)
• John Milner † (6 Mar 1803 Appointed - 19 Apr 1826 Died)
• Thomas Walsh † (19 Apr 1826 Succeeded - 17 Jul 1848 Appointed, Vicar Apostolic of London District, England)
• William Bernard Ullathorne, O.S.B. † (28 Jul 1848 Appointed - Jan 1888 Retired)
• Edward Ilsley † (15 Feb 1888 Appointed - 15 Jan 1921 Retired)
• John McIntyre † (16 Jun 1921 Appointed - 17 Nov 1928 Resigned)
• Thomas Leighton Williams † (23 Jun 1929 Appointed - 1 Apr 1946 Died)
• Joseph Masterson † (8 Feb 1947 Appointed - 30 Nov 1953 Died)
• Francis Edward Joseph Grimshaw † (11 May 1954 Appointed - 22 Mar 1965 Died)
• George Patrick Dwyer † (5 Oct 1965 Appointed - 1 Sep 1981 Retired)
• Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville † (22 Jan 1982 Appointed - 12 Jun 1999 Resigned)
• Vincent Gerard Nichols (15 Feb 2000 Appointed - 3 Apr 2009 Appointed, Archbishop of Westminster, England)
• Bernard Longley (1 Oct 2009 Appointed - )

Historical Summary

Statistics

Year	Catholics	Total Population	Percent Catholic	Diocesan Priests	Religious Priests	Total Priests	Catholics Per Priest	Permanent Deacons	Male Religious	Female Religious	Parishes	Source
Archdiocese of Birmingham
1950	239,947	3,595,712	6.7%	330	261	591	406		308	1,150	220	ap1951
1959	262,669	4,280,725	6.1%	391	213	604	434		320	1,150	207	ap1960
1970	328,918	4,959,340	6.6%	390	246	636	517		322	1,395	228	ap1971
1980	361,483	5,078,220	7.1%	333	181	514	703		206	1,139	231	ap1981
1990	318,658	5,173,000	6.2%	301	148	449	709	7	223	1,200	232	ap1991
1999	291,800	5,323,390	5.5%	317	147	464	628	45	301	762	228	ap2000
2000	296,126	5,353,390	5.5%	300	149	449	659	50	303	759	227	ap2001
2001	287,658	5,235,658	5.5%	265	151	416	691	58	305	540	225	ap2002
2002	285,956	5,235,381	5.5%	281	151	432	661	61	231	520	225	ap2003
2003	288,197	5,236,412	5.5%	273	150	423	681	68	240	525	225	ap2004
2004	286,500	5,245,000	5.5%	273	152	425	674	72	240	521	218	ap2005
2006	287,660	5,267,308	5.5%	260		260	1,106	80	101	521	213	ap2007*
2012	286,700	5,455,000	5.3%	248	106	354	809	81	179	521	224	ap2013
2013	438,675	4,945,600	8.9%	273	87	360	1,218	84	172	235	222	ap2014
2015	443,300	4,993,000	8.9%	276	132	408	1,086	91	228	235	225	ap2016
2018	448,440	5,035,205	8.9%	250	172	422	1,062	93	277	236	223	ap2019
2020	453,820	5,095,400	8.9%	247	162	409	1,109	96	270	210	226	ap2021
2022	458,900	5,145,000	8.9%	250	161	411	1,116	93	269	215	226	ap2023

Note: Any changes in boundaries over time are not indicated in the above table.

Affiliated Bishops, Living

• Terence John Brain (Priest: 22 Feb 1964; Auxiliary Bishop: 5 Feb 1991 to 2 Sep 1997)
• Robert John Byrne, C.O. (Auxiliary Bishop: 15 Mar 2014 to 4 Feb 2019)
• Kieran Thomas Conry (Priest: 19 Jul 1975 to 8 May 2001)
• David Ernest Charles Evans (Priest: 29 Jul 1978; Auxiliary Bishop: 18 Mar 2020)
• Michael Louis Fitzgerald, M. Afr.
• Roger Francis Crispian Hollis (Auxiliary Bishop: 13 Feb 1987 to 6 Dec 1988)
• Alan Stephen Hopes
• William (Leonard) Kenney, C.P. (Auxiliary Bishop: 17 Oct 2006 to 7 May 2021; Administrator: 22 May 2009 to 8 Dec 2009)
• Bernard Longley (Archbishop: 1 Oct 2009 - )
• Kevin John Patrick McDonald (Priest: 20 Jul 1974 to 29 Mar 2001)
• Patrick Joseph McKinney (Priest: 29 Jul 1978 to 14 May 2015)
• Timothy Francis Menezes (Priest: 22 Jul 1995; Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Apr 2024)
• Vincent Gerard Nichols (Archbishop: 15 Feb 2000 to 3 Apr 2009)
• David James Oakley (Priest: 5 Jul 1980 to 8 Jan 2020)
• Philip Pargeter (Priest: 21 Feb 1959; Auxiliary Bishop: 20 Nov 1989 to 31 Jul 2009)
• Marcus Nigel Ralph Stock (Priest: 13 Aug 1988 to 15 Sep 2014)
• Richard Adrian Walker (Priest: 22 Jul 2000; Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Apr 2024)
• Stephen James Lawrence Wright (Priest: 9 Sep 2000; Auxiliary Bishop: 18 Mar 2020 to 14 Jun 2023)

  ---

Affiliated Bishops, Deceased

• Samuel Webster Allen †
• Francis Kerril Amherst † (Priest: 6 Jun 1846 to 14 May 1858)
• John Patrick Barrett † (Auxiliary Bishop: 23 Dec 1926 to 7 Jun 1929)
• Charles Berington † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 2 Jun 1786; Vicar Apostolic: 24 Feb 1795 to 8 Jun 1798)
• James Yorke Bramston †
• Humphrey Penderell Bright † (Priest: 2 Jun 1928; Auxiliary Bishop: 31 Aug 1944 to 26 Mar 1964)
• James Brown † (Priest: 18 Feb 1837 to 27 Jun 1851)
• William Robert Bernard Brownlow †
• David John Cashman † (Priest: 24 Dec 1938 to 25 Mar 1958)
• Joseph Francis Cleary † (Priest: 29 Jun 1939; Auxiliary Bishop: 8 Dec 1964 to 5 Sep 1987)
• William Joseph Hugh Clifford †
• Peter Bernardine Collingridge, O.F.M. Rec. †
• Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville † (Archbishop: 22 Jan 1982 to 12 Jun 1999)
• George Laurence Craven †
• James Dey † (Priest: 17 Feb 1894 to 13 Apr 1935)
• Edward Dicconson † (Priest: Jun 1701 to 6 Oct 1740)
• Patrick James Donahue †
• Kevin John Dunn † (Priest: 17 Jan 1976 to 26 Mar 2004)
• George Patrick Dwyer † (Archbishop: 5 Oct 1965 to 1 Sep 1981)
• Anthony Joseph Emery † (Priest: 30 May 1953; Auxiliary Bishop: 4 Dec 1967 to 13 Sep 1976)
• Compton Theodore Galton, S.J. †
• Bonaventure Joseph Giffard † (Vicar Apostolic: 28 Jan 1688 to 14 Mar 1703)
• Michael Francis Glancey † (Priest: 22 Dec 1877; Auxiliary Bishop: 5 Aug 1924 to 16 Oct 1925)
• Joseph Malacky Gray † (Priest: 20 Jun 1943 to 19 Dec 1968)
• Bernard William Griffin † (Priest: 1 Nov 1924 to 26 May 1938; Auxiliary Bishop: 26 May 1938 to 18 Dec 1943)
• Francis Edward Joseph Grimshaw † (Archbishop: 11 May 1954 to 22 Mar 1965)
• Joseph William (Francis) Hendren, O.F.M. Rec. †
• Frederick Charles Hopkins, S.J. †
• John Joseph Hornyold † (Priest: 22 Dec 1736; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 20 Dec 1751; Vicar Apostolic: 29 Mar 1756 to 26 Dec 1778)
• Edward Henry Howard of Norfolk †
• Edward Ilsley † (Priest: 29 Jun 1861; Auxiliary Bishop: 21 Nov 1879; Bishop: 15 Feb 1888; Archbishop: 28 Oct 1911 to 15 Jan 1921)
• Frederick William Keating † (Priest: 20 Oct 1882 to 1 Feb 1908)
• Edmund James Knight † (Priest: 19 Dec 1857 to 6 May 1879)
• Joseph Masterson † (Priest: 27 Jul 1924; Archbishop: 8 Feb 1947 to 30 Nov 1953)
• Patrick Leo McCartie † (Priest: 17 Jul 1949; Auxiliary Bishop: 13 Apr 1977 to 20 Feb 1990)
• Joseph McCormack †
• David Christopher McGough † (Priest: 14 Mar 1970; Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Oct 2005 to 18 Mar 2020)
• John McIntyre † (Priest: 22 May 1880; Auxiliary Bishop: 24 Jun 1912 to 24 Aug 1917; Archbishop: 16 Jun 1921 to 17 Nov 1928)
• John Milner † (Vicar Apostolic: 6 Mar 1803 to 19 Apr 1826)
• Francis George Mostyn † (Priest: 1 Mar 1828 to 22 Sep 1840)
• Thomas Leo Parker †
• Richard Butler Roskell † (Deacon: Sep 1839; Priest: 9 Jun 1840 to 29 Jul 1853)
• Algernon Charles Stanley †
• Gregory Stapleton † (Vicar Apostolic: 7 Nov 1800 to 23 May 1802)
• Edmund Stonor †
• John Talbot Stonor † (Vicar Apostolic: 18 Sep 1715 to 29 Mar 1756)
• Thomas Joseph Talbot † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 26 Feb 1766; Vicar Apostolic: 26 Dec 1778 to 24 Feb 1795)
• Francis Gerard Thomas † (Priest: 5 Jun 1955 to 27 Aug 1982)
• William Bernard Ullathorne, O.S.B. † (Vicar Apostolic: 28 Jul 1848; Bishop: 29 Sep 1850 to Jan 1888)
• Thomas Walsh † (Priest: 19 Sep 1801; Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 28 Jan 1825; Vicar Apostolic: 19 Apr 1826 to 17 Jul 1848)
• William Wareing † (Deacon: 15 Apr 1813; Priest: 28 Sep 1815 to 5 Jun 1840)
• Henry Weedall † (Priest: 6 Apr 1814 to 7 Nov 1859)
• Thomas Leighton Williams † (Priest: 24 Aug 1900; Archbishop: 23 Jun 1929 to 1 Apr 1946)
• Robert William Willson (Wilson) † (Priest: 16 Dec 1824 to 22 Apr 1842)
• Nicholas Patrick Stephen (Nicolás Patricio Esteban) Wiseman † (Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: 22 May 1840 to 29 Aug 1847)
• George Witham † (Vicar Apostolic: 12 Aug 1702 to 6 Apr 1716)

Source(s)

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