The Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Roman Catholic Diocese in the North West of England. It varies from the rural areas of Shropshire to the big towns of Birkenhead, Stockport, Ellesmere Port and others. Its current bishop is Brian Noble. Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... North West England is one of the regions of England. ... Shropshire (alternatively Salop or abbreviated Shrops) is a county in the West Midlands of England. ... Map sources for Birkenhead at grid reference SJ3088 Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. ... Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Brian Michael Noble (born 11 April 1936) is the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. ...

Geographical location

The diocese comprises of the areas of Shropshire, Cheshire, as well as parts of Greater Manchester and Merseyside. From Summer 2007, new pastoral areas will be established and regions created. These will replace the former deanaries.
Each LPT (local pastoral team [see below]) will have two co-leaders (one priest; one lay) and each region will be headed by a Regional Dean. Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... Shropshire (alternatively Salop or abbreviated Shrops) is a county in the West Midlands of England. ... Cheshire (or, archaically, the County of Chester)[1] is a county in North West England. ... Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England which has a population of 2. ... Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

The clergy

There are 110 parishes in the diocese served by 141 priests.

• All figures are as of January 2007

Catholic education in the diocese

There are 116 Catholic schools and colleges serving 40,970 pupils.

• All figures are as of January 2006

Patron saints of the diocese

1) Our Lady, Help of Christians - 24th May
(Redirected from 24th May) May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ...

2) Saint Winefride - 3rd November Saint Winefride (also: Saint Winifred, Gwenfrewi, Saint Gwenfrewy, Guinevere, Winfred of Wales) was a 7th century Welsh woman who had her head severed from her body by an enraged suitor, Caradog. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ...

Deans and deaneries (with parishes)

Note: In early 2007 it was announced that parishes would group together to form 'Pastoral Areas', not as a replacement to parishes but strengthening local Catholic communities, ensuring the sharing of services and groups and to avoid unnecessary duplication. Another factor is undoubtedly the declining number of Catholics and priests with some parishes struggling to remain open due to Britain's widespread decline in religious practise.
More details to follow.

1) Region A - Wirral

Regional Dean: TBA

2) Region B - South Mersey

Regional Dean: TBA

3) Region C - Stockport & Tameside

Regional Dean: TBA

4) Region D - Central Cheshire

Regional Dean: TBA

5) Region E - Greater Manchester

Regional Dean: TBA

6) Region F - Shropshire

Regional Dean: TBA

Modern history

The first bishop of the diocese was James Brown, president of Sedgeley Park School, who was consecrated 27 July 1851. Out of a total population of 1,082,617, Catholics numbered about 20,000. There were thirty churches and chapels attended by resident priests, and six stations; one convent, that of the Faithful Companions of Jesus, in Birkenhead, to which was attached a boarding school for young ladies, and also a small day-school for poor children. There were Jesuits at Holywell, who also had a college at St. Bruno's, Flintshire, and a Benedictine at Acton Burnell. When Dr. Brown celebrated the jubilee of his consecration, the secular priests had increased to sixty-six, and the regulars to thirty-two. Instead of one religious house of men and one of women, there were now four of men, and nine of women; and many elementary schools had been provided for the needs of Catholic children. In 1852 the bitter feeling caused by-the re-establishment of the hierarchy found vent in serious riots at Stockport. On 29 June a large mob attacked the Church of Sts. Philip and James; they broke the windows and attempted to force in the doors, but before they could effect an entrance, Canon Randolph Frith, the rector, succeeded in removing the Blessed Sacrament, and secreting it with the chalices, etc., in a small cupboard in the side chapel. He was compelled to flee immediately to the belltower, and, whilst the rabble were destroying whatever they could lay their hands upon, he made his escape along the roof, and descended by the spouting at the back of the presbytery. Much of the church furniture, with vestments, etc., was piled up in the street and burned. At St. Michael's, the Host was desecrated, and the pyx and ciborium carried away. is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1851 (MDCCCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters) was founded in Amiens in France in 1820 by Marie Madeleine de Bonnault dHoüet. ... Map sources for Birkenhead at grid reference SJ3088 Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. ... A boarding school is a usually fee-paying school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. ... Holywell (Welsh: ) is the fifth largest town in Flintshire, north Wales, lying to the west of the estuary of the River Dee. ... Bruno is the latinized version of the Germanic male given name Brun. ... Flintshire (Welsh: ) is a principal area and county in north-east Wales. ... Acton Burnell is a village in the English county of Shropshire. ... Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ... The Blessed Sacrament is displayed in a procession at the 2005 Southeastern Eucharistic Congress. ... Chalice For other uses, see Chalice A chalice (from Latin calix, cup) is a goblet intended to hold drink. ... A presbytery can be - * the residence of one or more presbyters, priests, or religious elders; - * an area of a church or cathedral reserved for priests; - * the collective college of priests in a diocese, archdiocese, or prelature; - * the local unit in the polity of a Presbyterian church, consisting of presbyters (i. ... Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Methodists, Lutheran and Anglican Churches. ... Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Sta. ... A brass pyx for carrying the consecrated host A pyx or pix (Latin: pyxis, transliteration of Greek: pyxis, box-wood receptacle, from pyxos, box-tree) is a small container used in the Catholic Church and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host, the Eucharist, to the sick or invalid or... A Ciborium is a container, used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and related Churches rituals to store Holy Communion. ...

Althought the Catholic population of the diocese was 58,013 (as of the early 20th century), Shropshire contributing under 3,000, partly on account of agricultural depression and the consequent flocking to industrial centres. There were ninety clergy, sixteen convents, representatives of four orders of men, eight secondary schools for girls, an orphanage and industrial school for boys, a home for aged poor, a home for penitents, and an orphanage erected in memory of Bishop Knight. At Oakwood Hall, Romiley, a house of retreats for working-men opened and had done important work; and at New Brighton, the nuns of Our Lady of the Cenacle opened a house of retreats for working-women and ladies. Shropshire is singularly rich in archeological interest, its pre-Reformation parish churches, the noble ruins of monasteries round the Wrekin, the Roman city of Uriconium (Wroxeter), the lordly castle of Ludlow, giving the county a place apart in the heart of the antiquary. In Shrewsbury itself, where once Grey, Black, and Austin Friars and the Black Monks of St. Benedict had foundations, there is now a beautiful little cathedral, built by E. Welby Pugin. Chester, too, with its quaint streets, black and white houses, and venerable cathedral and city walls, claims the visitor's attention. When the body of Daniel O'Connell was brought back from Genoa, it rested in the old chapel in Queen's Street on its way to Ireland. An orphanage (historically an orphans asylum before the latter word took on its modern insane asylum connotation) is an institution dedicated to caring for orphans (children who have lost their parents) and abused, abandoned, and neglected children. ... Romiley is a small district in the English town of Stockport. ... New Brighton is the name of several places: New Brighton, Merseyside - a village now part of Wallasey, England. ... The Wrekin is a prominent elevation capped by a hill fort almost 8 hectares (80,000 m²) in size, located within in the English county of Shropshire. ... Wroxeter is a village in the county of Shropshire, England, on the east bank of the River Severn, at grid reference SJ563082. ... Feathers Hotel, Ludlow A view of Ludlow market, which is situated in Castle Square, taken from the tower of St Laurences Church. ... An antiquarian is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. ... For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ... Daniel OConnell Daniel OConnell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847) (Irish: Dónal Ó Conaill), known as The Liberator or The Emancipator, was Irelands predominant political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century who championed the cause of the down-trodden Catholic population. ... Genoa (Genova [] in Italian - Zena [] in Genoese) is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. ...

External links

• Diocese Website
• Giga-Catholic Information

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Catholic Dioceses in England and Wales

Province of Westminster: Diocese of Brentwood | Diocese of East Anglia | Northampton Diocese | Diocese of Nottingham | Archdiocese of Westminster  Image File history File links Christian_cross. ... The Bishop of Brentwood is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood in the Province of Westminster. ... // The Diocese covers the counties of Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk and also Peterborough. ... // The diocese covers Bedfordshire, the old county of Buckinghamshire including the Slough area and Northamptonshire. ... The Diocese of Nottingham is a Roman Catholic diocese which covers covers an area of 13,074 km², taking in the counties of Nottinghamshire (excluding the district of Bassetlaw), Leicestershire, Derbyshire (excluding the High Peak and Chesterfield districts) and North Lincolnshire. ... Westminster Cathedral is the motherchurch of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster. ...

Province of Birmingham: Archdiocese of Birmingham | Diocese of Clifton | Diocese of Shrewsbury  The Archbishop of Birmingham is the Ordinary of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in the Region of Great Britain. ... Diocese of Clifton is an English Catholic diocese consisting of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. ...

Province of Liverpool: Diocese of Hallam | Diocese of Lancaster | Diocese of Leeds | Archdiocese of Liverpool | Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle | Diocese of Salford  The Diocese of Hallam is a Roman Catholic Diocese in the UK, under the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. ... History Bishops of Lancaster See also Bishop of Lancaster External Links Official Site Lancaster RC Cathedral Diocesan Retreat Centre The Latin Mass Society in the RC Diocese of Lancaster Giga-Catholic Information ... The Diocese of Leeds is a Roman Catholic diocese centred around the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. ... The Archdiocese of Liverpool Logo incorporating The Official Crest The Archdiocese of Liverpool is a Roman Catholic archdiocese based in Liverpool, with the Archbishop of Liverpool. ... The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a Roman Catholic Diocese in the UK. The diocese is one of the six suffragan sees in the ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool and covers North-East England. ... The Diocese of Salford is a Roman Catholic diocese based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. ...

Province of Southwark: Diocese of Arundel and Brighton | Diocese of Plymouth | Diocese of Portsmouth | Archdiocese of Southwark  The Diocese of Arundel & Brighton is a Roman Catholic diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey. ... The Diocese of Plymouth is a Roman Catholic diocese based on Plymouth, Devon External Links Giga-Catholic Information Categories: | ... // St Johns Catholic Cathedral Portsmouth The Portsmouth Diocese, 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 Archbishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in the Region of Great Britain. ...

Province of Cardiff: Archdiocese of Cardiff | Diocese of Menevia | Diocese of Wrexham  The Archbishop of Cardiff is the Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Cardiff. ... The Diocese of Menevia is a Latin-rite Catholic diocese based on Swansea, Wales. ... The Bishop of Wrexham is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham in the Province of Cardiff. ...

Military Ordinariate Bishopric of the Forces: Bishopric of the Forces   A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical unit responsible for the pastoral care of Christians serving in the armed forces of a nation. ... The Bishop of The Bishopric of the Forces is the Rt Revd Thomas Matthew Burns (born 1944). ...

The Apostolic Exarchate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Great Britain: Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians   The Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians (Ukrainian:Апостольський екзархат у Великобританії) is an apostolic exarchate for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Great Britain. ...