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Our Lady & St. Wilfrid, Blyth and St. Cuthbert, Cowpen Roman Catholic Churches

Previous Bishops of our Diocese...

Roman Catholic Church Hierarchy

The Catholic clergy is organised in a strict, sometimes overlapping hierarchy:

Pope
Head of the church, he is based at the Vatican. The pope is infallible in defining matters of faith and morals.

Cardinal
Appointed by the pope, 178 cardinals worldwide, including 13 in the U.S., make up the College of Cardinals. As a body, it advises the pope and, on his death, elects a new pope.

Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of a main or metropolitan diocese, also called an archdiocese. A cardinal can concurrently hold the title. The U.S. has 45 archbishops.

Bishop
A bishop, like a priest, is ordained to this station. He is a teacher of church doctrine, a priest of sacred worship, and a minister of church government. The U.S. has 290 active bishops, 194 head dioceses.

Priest
An ordained minister who can administer most of the sacraments, including the Eucharist, baptism, and marriage. He can be with a particular religious order or committed to serving a congregation.

Deacon
A transitional deacon is a seminarian studying for the priesthood. A permanent deacon can be married and assists a priest by performing some of the sacraments.

Styles

Pope
The pope's official style is "His Holiness"

Patriarch
A patriarch's official style is "His Beatitude"

Cardinal
A cardinal's official style is "His Eminence"

Archbishop & Bishop
An archbishop's and a bishop's style is "His Excellency" or "The Most Reverend".
In Commonwealth countries and Ireland, however, an archbishop is styled His Grace or The Most Reverend, and a bishop is styled His Lordship or The Most Reverend.

Priest
A Priest's official style is "Father" or "Reverend"

Deacon
A permanent deacon is not styled "Father" as a priest would be, but as "Deacon," abbreviated variously as "Dn." or "Dcn."

A Transitional Deacon is often styled simply as "Reverend (Rev)".

The See of Hexham was erected in 1850; the title was changed to that of Hexham and Newcastle on May 23rd, 1861.

WILLIAM HOGARTH


Born March 25, 1786
Consecrated August 24, 1848 as Vicar-Apostolic of the Northern District. Translated to Hexham, September 29, 1850
Died January 29, 1866, aged 80, in Darlington; buried at Ushaw

Bishop william hogarth
Bishop James Chadwick

JAMES CHADWICK 


Born April 24, 1813
Consecrated October 18, 1866
Died May 14, 1882, aged 69, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

Bishop John William Bewick

JOHN WILLIAM BEWICK


Born April 20, 1824
Consecrated October 18, 1882
Died October 29, 1886, aged 62, in Tynemouth; buried at the Ashburton Cemetery Gosforth

Bishop Henry O Callaghan

HENRY O'CALLAGHAN


Born March 29, 1827
Consecrated January 18, 1888
Resigned 1889 and translated to Archiepiscopal See of Nicosia, October 1st, 1889
Died October 11, 1904, aged 77, in Florence.

Bishop Thomas W Wilkinson

THOMAS W. WILKINSON

Born April 5, 1825
Consecrated July 25, 1888
Translated to Hexham & Newcastle, December 28, 1889
Died April 17, 1909, aged 84, at Ushaw, where he is buried

He had as Auxiliary - RICHARD PRESTON

Bishop of Phocea
Born December 12, 1856
Consecrated July 25, 1900
Died February 9, 1905, aged 49, in Lancaster; buried at Ushaw

Bishop Richard Collins

RICHARD COLLINS


Born April 5, 1857
Consecrated Bishop of of Selinus, June 29, 1905
Became Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle, June 21, 1909
Died February 9, 1924, aged 66, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw
 
By an Apostolic Constitution dated 22nd November 1924, His Holiness Pope Pius XI withdrew the two Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, and incorporated them in the newly-erected Diocese of Lancaster.

Bishop Joseph Thorman

JOSEPH THORMAN


Born August 6, 1871
Consecrated January 27, 1925
Died October 7, 1936, aged 65, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

Bishop Joseph McCormack

JOSEPH McCORMACK

Born May 17, 1887
Consecrated February 4, 1937
Died March 2, 1958, aged 70, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

Bishop James Cunningham

JAMES CUNNINGHAM

Born August 15, 1910
Consecrated Bishop of Jos and Auxiliary to Bishop McCormack,
November 12th 1957
Appointed as Bishop of Diocese, July 1, 1958
Died July 10, 1974, aged 63, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

Bishop Hugh Lindsay

HUGH LINDSAY

Bishop Emeritus of Hexham and Newcastle
Born June 20, 1927
Ordained Bishop of Chester-le-Street (Cuncacestre) and Auxilliary to Bishop Cunningham, Decembember 11, 1969
Appointed Bishop of Diocese, December 12, 1974
Retired January 11, 1992
Died 19th January 2009

He had as Auxiliary - OWEN SWINDLEHURST
Bishop of Chester-le-Street
Born May 10, 1928
Ordained Bishop of Chester-le-Street and Auxiliary to Bishop Lindsay, July 25, 1977
Died August 28, 1995, aged 67, in Sunderland; buried at Our Blessed Lady Immaculate, Washington, Tyne & Wear

Bishop Ambrose Griffiths

AMBROSE GRIFFITHS OSB

Bishop Emeritus of Hexham and Newcastle
Bishop Ambrose Griffiths (Michael Ambrose Grifiths) OSB, KCHS, MA
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle 1992 - 2004
Born 24th December 1928
Died 14th June 2011
Ordained Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle 11th January 1992
Retired Friday 26 March 2004

KEVIN J DUNN

Born July 9, 1950
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle 2004 - 2008
Died March 1, 2008, aged 57, in Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Buried in the St. Mary's Cathedral Crypt on 11th March 2008

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