Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth

Diocese of Portsmouth Dioecesis Portus Magni
Location
Country	England
Territory	Counties of Hampshire, Berkshire (south of the Thames), Oxfordshire (south of the Thames), Dorset, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.
Ecclesiastical province	Southwark
Metropolitan	Southwark
Coordinates	50.799°N 1.091°W / 50.799; -1.091
Statistics
Area	6,339 km2 (2,448 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 2,960,077 167,632 (5.7%)
Parishes	112
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	19 May 1882
Cathedral	Portsmouth Cathedral
Secular priests	128
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Roger Francis Crispian Hollis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Peter Smith
Map
The diocese within the Province of Southwark
Website
portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

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. The diocese is part of the metropolitan Province of Southwark, which covers the far South of England.

Location

The Diocese of Portsmouth, situated centrally within the Metropolitan Province of Southwark, extending as far as Abingdon in the North; and down to and including the Channel Islands in the South, and roughly from Liphook in the East to Andover in the West. The Diocese adjoins the dioceses of Birmingham and Northampton to the North, the diocese of Arundel & Brighton to the East and the dioceses of Plymouth and Clifton to the West. It officially comprises the counties of Hampshire, Berkshire (south of the Thames), Oxfordshire (south of the Thames), Dorset (the Bournemouth area), the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

The area of the Diocese of Portsmouth is 6,339 km² (2,447sq Miles) and has a total population (2001 census) of 2,960,077. Its estimated Catholic population (2004) is 167,000. There are 112 parishes (2005) and 128 incardinated priests, with a further 86 from religious orders, congregations & societies. There are also 31 permanent deacons serving in the parishes plus 101 professed non-priest religious and 255 professed women religious. Education comprises 48 primary/middle/ecumenical schools (aided and grant maintained), 8 secondary and 24 independent schools which completes the picture.

History

St John's Catholic Cathedral Portsmouth

By a Papal Brief dated 19 May 1882, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Portsmouth. It was formed out of the western portion of the Diocese of Southwark, as constituted at the re-establishment of the hierarchy in 1850. The Southwark diocese had become too large for one Bishop, extending as it did from London to Bournemouth and from the outskirts of Oxford to Dover and including the Channel Islands.

The new diocese comprised the counties of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, and the Channel Islands. It was thus almost co-terminus with the limits of the Diocese of Winchester. The obvious place for the cathedral and curia of the new diocese was Winchester. The Ecclesiastical Titles Act forbade a Catholic diocese to have the same name as an Anglican see. It would appear that the original intention was to fix the see at Southampton, with St. Joseph's Church in Bugle Street as the pro-cathedral.^{[citation needed]} The construction of a large parish church in the centre of Portsmouth had begun, and it was decided to make it the future cathedral of the diocese.^{[citation needed]}

Bishops

Main article: Bishop of Portsmouth (Catholic)

Dr. John Vertue (1826–1900) was appointed the first bishop of the new diocese. He was consecrated by Cardinal Manning on 25 July 1882 and on 10 August of that year opened the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist at Portsmouth. When the new Bishop took possession of his see, there were fifty-five public chapels and forty-nine priests in the diocese.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1900 the diocese has had six bishops: John Cahill, 1900–1910; William Cotter (who came from Cloyne in Co. Cork), 1910–1940; John Henry King (who was given the personal title of Archbishop in 1954), 1941–1965; Derek Worlock (Translated to Liverpool as Archbishop 7 February 1976), 1965–1976; Anthony Emery, 1976–1988; and Crispian Hollis 1988–date.^{[citation needed]}

Current bishop

Main article: Crispian Hollis

Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth, was educated at Stonyhurst College and ordained on 11 July 1965.

He was installed as Bishop of Portsmouth on 27 January 1989. He has been Chairman of the Catholic Media Trust and also Chairman of the Bishops' Committee for Europe. He is member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in the Vatican. He is Chairman of the Bishops' Conference Department of Mission and Unity, Representative for the Bishops' Conference of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and a Member of IARCCUM (International Anglican Roman Catholic Committee for Unity and Mission).

He reaches retirement age (75) in November 2011; at the time of writing (April 2011) no successor has been announced.

Other Notables of Diocese

Vicars General

Rev Mgr Tom McGrath VG

Rev Mgr John Nelson VG

Rev Mgr Vincent Harvey VG

Moderator for the Curia

Rev Mgr John Nelson STL, JCL, VG

Episcopal Vicar for the Care and Formation of the Clergy

Rev Canon Paul Townsend EpV

Episcopal Vicar for Religious

Rev Thomas Taaffe EpV

Chancellor for the Diocese

Rev Canon Richard Hind

Pastoral Areas

Following a long period of consultation, the Diocese's new Pastoral Areas were launched at Pentecost 2006, with the aim to convert the Pastoral Areas into Parishes, so in the end of this, there will be 24 parishes in total in this diocese.

The new Pastoral Areas with their respective parishes are:

• Portsmouth: Portsmouth Cathedral – Corpus Christi with St Joseph – Our Lady & St Swithun – St Colman with St Paul

• Thames Isis: Abingdon – Didcot – East Hendred – North Hinksey – Wallingford

• West Berkshire: Newbury St Francis de Sales – Newbury St Joseph – Thatcham – Woolhampton

• Central and West Reading: English Martyrs – St James & St William – St Joseph

• Loddon Valley: Reading: Christ the King – Our Lady of Peace & Blessed Dominic Barberi – Twyford – Woodley

• Great Park: Ascot – Maidenhead St Edmund Campion – Maidenhead St Joseph – Windsor

• South Berkshire: Bracknell: St Joseph and St Margaret Clitherow – Crowthorne & Sandhurst – Wokingham

• North East Hampshire: Aldershot – Church Crookham – Farnborough Our Lady Help of Christians – Farnborough Our Lady & St Dominic – Fleet – Hartley Wintney – Yateley

• North West Hampshire: Andover & Whitchurch – Basingstoke Holy Ghost – Basingstoke St Joseph – Hook – Tadley – Whitchurch

• Alton-Petersfield: Alton – Bordon – Grayshott – Liphook – Petersfield

• Hampshire Downs: Hampshire Downs parish [CONVERTED TO PARISH]

• Three Rivers: Bishop’s Waltham – Chandlers Ford – Eastleigh – Romsey

• Havant: Havant – Hayling Island – Horndean – Leigh Park – Waterlooville

• North Downs: Buckland & Faringdon – Lambourn & Hungerford – Wantage

• Solent: Fareham - Portchester – Gosport – Lee-on-the-Solent with Stubbington – Park Gate [CONVERTED TO PARISH]

• Southampton East: Hedge End – Netley – Southampton: Christ the King & St Colman – Immaculate Conception – St Patrick

• Southampton Central and West: Holy Family – St Boniface – St Joseph & St Edmund – St Vincent de Paul

• New Forest East: Totton – Waterside - Lyndhurst

• New Forest: Brockenhurst – Lymington – Milford on Sea – New Milton

• Avon Stour: Bournemouth Our Lady Queen of Peace & Blessed Margaret Pole – St Thomas More – Christchurch – Fordingbridge – Highcliffe – Ringwood

• Bournemouth: Annunciation & St Edmund Campion – Corpus Christi – Our Lady Immaculate – Sacred Heart

• Isle of Wight: Cowes – East Cowes – Newport – Ryde – South Wight – Totland Bay

• Bailiwick of Guernsey: Alderney – Guernsey
• Jersey [CONVERTED TO PARISH]

Parishes

• Hampshire Downs parish

Hampshire Downs Pastroal Area

• Jersey parish

Jersey Pastroal Area

• Our Lady Star of the Sea, Fareham & Gosport parish

Solent Pastoral Area

• St. Swithun Wells parish

Three Rivers Pastoral Area

Deaneries

Deaneries used to be used in the Diocese of Portsmouth, until Pastoral Areas were created to replace Deaneries, here is a list of the Deaneries from 2005, a year before Pastoral Areas were created.

Portsmouth, Aldershot, Alton, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Fareham, Havant, New Forest, Southampton, Winchester, North East Berks, South Berks, Kennet Valley, Vale of the White Horse, Reading, Isle of Wight, Guernsey, Jersey

Pilgrimage

The Portsmouth Diocese makes up part of the Catholic Association Pilgrimage.

External links

• Official site of the Diocese
• The Diocese of Portsmouth at the site www.catholic-hierarchy.org
• The Catholic Church in Gosport
• The Catholic Church in Fareham & Portchester
• St Margaret Mary in Park Gate,