Our Lady & St. Wilfrid and St. Cuthbert RC Church

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."

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

JAMES CHADWICK

Born April 24, 1813

Consecrated October 18, 1866

Died May 14, 1882, aged 69, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

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

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.

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

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.

JOSEPH THORMAN

Born August 6, 1871

Consecrated January 27, 1925

Died October 7, 1936, aged 65, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

JOSEPH McCORMACK

Born May 17, 1887

Consecrated February 4, 1937

Died March 2, 1958, aged 70, in Newcastle; buried at Ushaw

JAMES CUNNINGHAM

Born August 15, 1910

Consecrated Bishop of Jos and Auxiliary to Bishop McCormack,

November 12th 1957