The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Liverpool () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese is the centre of the Ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool which covers the north of England as well as the Isle of Man.
History
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. Initially it comprised the Hundreds of West Derby, Leyland, Fylde, Amounderness and Lonsdale in Lancashire and the Isle of Man.
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 (also known as the Northern Province).
Location The archdiocese covers an area of 1,165 km2 (450 sq. mi.) of the west of the County of Lancashire south of the Ribble (West Lancashire and part of South 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 of Christ the King, which was dedicated on 14 May 1967.
The central office building known as the Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation (LACE). The address is LACE, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool, L17 1AA. The main telephone number is 0151 522 1000.
Archdiocesan statistics 2018 Compiled 3 December 2018Archdiocese of Liverpool 2018 Directory
Catholic Population 2017: 441,000 Parishes: 157 Priests (Diocesan & Religious): 190 Houses of Religious Brothers: 5 Convents of Religious Sisters: 54 Permanent Deacons: 97
Catholic Schools & Colleges Primary Schools: 184 High Schools: 27 Academies: 7 Sixth Form Colleges: 2 Extra-Diocesan: 4 Independent: 4
Archbishop and metropolitan
On 21 March 2014 Pope Francis appointed bishop Malcolm McMahon as the ninth archbishop of Liverpool. Bishop McMahon was enthroned as Archbishop of Liverpool on 1 May 2014.
Bishop Thomas Anthony Williams was previously appointed Apostolic Administrator during the sede vacante, until the appointment of a new archbishop, following the resignation of Archbishop Patrick Kelly, with effect from 28 February 2013.
Cathedrals
The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral) is a Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, England. It replaced the Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Copperas Hill. The cathedral is the seat of the archbishop of Liverpool, the mother church of Liverpool's Catholics, and the metropolitan church of the Catholic Church's northern province in England.
In 1853 Bishop Goss awarded the commission for the building of a new Catholic cathedral to Edward Welby Pugin (1833–1875), the son of Augustus Welby Pugin, the joint architect of the Houses of Parliament and champion of the Gothic Revival. By 1856 the Lady Chapel of the new cathedral had been completed on a site adjacent to the Catholic Institute on Saint Domingo Road, Everton. Due to financial restrictions work on the building ceased at this point and the Lady Chapel now named Our Lady Immaculate served as parish church to the local Catholic population until its demolition in the 1980s.
Following purchase of the present site at Brownlow Hill in 1930 Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) was commissioned to provide a design which would be an appropriate response to the Gilbert Scott-designed Neo-gothic Anglican cathedral then emerging at the other end of Hope Street. Lutyens' design would have created a massive classical/Byzantine structure that would have become the second-largest church in the world. It would have had the world's largest dome. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 5 June 1933, but again financial restrictions caused the abandonment of this plan after construction of the crypt.
The new cathedral, designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd and consecrated in 1967, was built above the crypt. Its circular plan was conceived in direct response to the Second Vatican Council's requirements for a greater and more intimate integration of the congregation with the clergy.
"Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations " Second Vatican Council 1962–1965
Chapels are built in between the buttresses that support the tent-shaped spire (which represents the crown of thorns of Jesus) like tent poles. A short film, Crown of Glass, documents the construction of the cathedral's rainbow-coloured stained glass windows.
The cathedral stands on the site of the Liverpool Workhouse, on Hope Street. Facing it at the opposite end of Hope Street is the Cathedral Church of Christ, Liverpool's Anglican cathedral. Ironically, Lutyens was an Anglican, while the architect of the Anglican cathedral, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was Catholic.
Ministries
Youth service Animate Youth Ministries is the youth service for the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The team, based at Lowe House, St Helens, is led by Simon Gore, and consists of a leadership team and a volunteer team all living in community together at Lowe House. Animate Youth Ministries works with school and parish groups on day retreats, mission days and mission weeks, and also holds youth Masses which take place at St Mary's Church, Lowe House, St. Helens. The Liverpool Archdiocesan Youth form an integral part of the annual Liverpool Archdiocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage. , the team works with over 9,000 young people each year.
Missionary project The Archdiocese of Liverpool has a long tradition of sending priests to work on the missions in Latin America, in particular Peru, This is known as the Liverpool Archdiocesan Missionary Project or colloquially as LAMP. In 2014, there were two priests involved in ministering to disadvantaged communities in Latin America, namely Simon Cadwallader and Dennis Parry.
Annual Lourdes pilgrimage In 1923, the first official archdiocesan pilgrimage set off from Liverpool for Lourdes and continues to the present day, interrupted only by the period of the Second World War. Led by the archbishop or his auxiliary, the week-long pilgrimage normally takes place each year between the end of July and beginning of August. During the week ordinary pilgrims from across the archdiocese meet to participate in services & processions whilst assisted pilgrims are cared for by Liverpool Hospitalité members and helpers from the Archdiocesean Youth Service.
Bishops List of ordinaries
Vicar Apostolic of Lancashire District 1840–1850: George Hilary Brown; see below
Bishops of Liverpool
1850–1856: George Hilary Brown; see above 1856–1872: Alexander Goss 1873–1894: Bernard O'Reilly 1894–1911: Thomas Whiteside; see below
Metropolitan Archbishops of Liverpool
1911–1921: Thomas Whiteside; see above 1921–1928: Frederick William Keating 1928–1953: Richard Downey 1953–1956: William Godfrey, appointed Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal in 1958) 1957–1963: John Carmel Heenan, appointed Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal in 1965) 1964–1976: George Andrew Beck AA 1976–1996: Derek Worlock 1996–2013: Patrick Altham Kelly 2014–2025: Malcolm Patrick McMahon OP 2025–present: John Sherrington
Coadjutor Bishops James Sharples (1843–1850), as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic; did not succeed to see; died before the see became a diocese Alexander Goss (1853–1856)
Auxiliary Bishops Robert Dobson (1922–1942) Joseph Gray (1968–1980), appointed Bishop of Shrewsbury Joseph Formby Halsall (1945–1958) Augustine Harris (1965–1978), appointed Bishop of Middlesbrough Anthony Hitchen (1979–1988) Vincent Malone (1989–2006) Kevin O'Connor (1979–1993) John Rawsthorne (1981–1997), appointed Bishop of Hallam Thomas Anthony Williams (2003– Thomas Neylon (2021–
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops John Patrick Barrett, appointed auxiliary bishop of Birmingham in 1926 John Bilsborrow, appointed Bishop of Salford in 1892 Paul Richard Gallagher, appointed nuncio and titular archbishop in 2004 Vincent Gerard Nichols, appointed auxiliary bishop of Westminster in 1991; future Cardinal Thomas Edward Flynn, appointed Bishop of Lancaster in 1939 William Godfrey, appointed apostolic delegate and titular archbishop in 1938; later returned here as archbishop; future cardinal Thomas Holland, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Portsmouth in 1960 Richard Preston, appointed auxiliary bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in 1900
William Godfrey William Godfrey (25 September 1889 - 22 January 1963) was a Catholic bishop, his highest posting was as Archbishop of Westminster. Born in Liverpool, he was educated at Ushaw College and at the Venerable English College, where he was ordained in 1916, during the First World War. He gained his Doctorate the following year. He then taught at Ushaw for 12 years: Classics, Philosophy and Theology. In 1930 he was appointed Rector of the College where during the next eight years he watched Benito Mussolini's rise to power. He was known affectionately to his students despite his strictness as "Uncle Bill." In 1938 he became the first Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, Gibraltar and Malta and he served in this post with such discretion that in 1953, long after the war, he became Archbishop of Liverpool and in 1956 he was appointed as Archbishop of Westminster. He was created Cardinal two years later. He died in London on 22 January 1963, aged 73.
Vincent Nichols Vincent Gerard Nichols was born in Crosby, Liverpool on 8 November 1945. He entered the Venerable English College (Rome) in 1963 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1969. His further studies include obtaining the Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Manchester, specialising in the theology of John Fisher. After working in the Archdiocese of Liverpool for 14 years, including, latterly, as the Director of the Upholland Northern Institute, Vincent Nichols was appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of England & Wales for nine years. In 1992 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as titular bishop of Abora. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Westminster between 1992 and 2000, having special pastoral oversight for North London. During this time he served under Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He presided over the burial of Cardinal Hume, at the end of his Requiem Mass in 1999. Nichols was appointed the eleventh Archbishop of Westminster by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 April 2009. The archdiocese, the primatial see of the Church in England and Wales, serves 472,600 Catholics. On 22 February 2014, Pope Francis admitted Nichols to the Sacred College of Cardinals at a general consistory.
John Rawsthorne