| Archbishop of Liverpool | |
|---|---|
| Archbishopric | |
| Catholic | |
| Incumbent: Patrick Altham Kelly |
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| Province: | Province of Liverpool |
| Diocese: | Archdiocese of Liverpool |
| Cathedral: | Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool |
| First Incumbent: | George Hilary Brown as Bishop of Liverpool |
| Formation: | Bishopric in 1850 Archbishopric in 1911 |
| Website: | Archbishop of Liverpool |
The Archbishop of Liverpool heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool in England. As such he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Liverpool, known also on occasion as the Northern Province.
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With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th century, Rome decided to proceed to bridge the gap of the centuries from Queen Elizabeth I by instituting Catholic dioceses on the regular historical pattern. Thus Pope Pius IX issued the Bull Universalis Ecclesiae of 29 September 1850 by which thirteen new dioceses which did not formally claim any continuity with the pre-Elizabethan English dioceses were created.
One of these was the diocese of Liverpool. At its creation it comprised the hundreds of West Derby, Leyland, Lonsdale and Amounderness in Lancashire, plus the Isle of Man.[1]
In the early period from 1850 the diocese was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Westminster, but a further development was the creation under Pope Pius X, on 28 October 1911, of a new Province of Liverpool.
The archdiocese covers an area of 1,165 km² (450 sq. mi.) of the west of the County of Lancashire south of the Ribble, parts of Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, the historic Hundreds of West Derby and Leyland and the Isle of Man. The see is in the City of Liverpool, where the Archbishop's cathedra or seat is located in the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King, which was dedicated on 14 May 1967.
The Archbishop's residence is Archbishop's House, Carnatic Road, Liverpool.
The current archbishop is His Grace the Most Reverend Patrick Altham Kelly, MKHS, STL, PhL, the 11th Bishop and 8th Metropolitan Archbishop of Liverpool.
The archbishop is currently supported by Auxiliary Bishop The Right Reverend Thomas Anthony Williams. The Right Reverend Vincent Malone retired in October 2006.
| Roman Catholic Bishops of Liverpool | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1850 | 1856 | George Hilary Brown | Previously Vicar Apostolic of the Lancashire District (1840–1850). Appointed the first Bishop of Liverpool on 29 September 1850. Died in office on 25 January 1856.[2] |
| 1856 | 1872 | Alexander Goss | Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Liverpool and Titular Bishop of Gerrha on 29 July 1853 and consecrated on 25 September 1853. Succeeded Bishop of Liverpool on 25 January 1856. Died in office on 3 October 1872.[3] |
| 1873 | 1894 | Bernard O'Reilly | Appointed bishop on 28 February 1873 and consecrated on 19 March 1873. Died in office on 9 April 1894.[4] |
| 1894 | 1911 | Thomas Whiteside | Appointed bishop on 12 July 1894 and consecrated on 15 August 1894. Elevated from bishop to archbishop on 28 October 1911.[5] |
| Roman Catholic Archbishops of Liverpool | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1911 | 1921 | Thomas Whiteside | Elevated from bishop to archbishop on 28 October 1911. Died in office on 28 January 1921.[5] |
| 1921 | 1928 | Frederick William Keating | Previously Bishop of Northampton (1908–1921). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 13 June 1921. Died in office on 7 February 1928.[6] |
| 1928 | 1953 | Richard Downey | Appointed archbishop on 3 August 1928 and consecrated on 21 September 1928. Died in office on 16 June 1953.[7] |
| 1953 | 1956 | William Godfrey | Previously Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain and Chargé d'affaires to the Polish government-in-exile. Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 10 November 1953. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster on 3 December 1956.[8] |
| 1957 | 1963 | John Carmel Heenan | Previously Bishop of Leeds (1951–1957). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 2 May 1957. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster on 2 September 1963.[9] |
| 1964 | 1976 | George Andrew Beck, A.A. | Previously Bishop of Salford (1955–1964). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 29 January 1964. Resigned on 7 February 1976 and died on 13 September 1978.[10] |
| 1976 | 1996 | Derek John Harford Worlock | Previously Bishop of Portsmouth (1965–1976). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 7 February 1976. Died in office on 6 February 1996.[11] |
| 1996 | present | Patrick Altham Kelly | Previously Bishop of Salford (1984–1996). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 21 May 1996.[12] |
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