Archbishop of Birmingham

{{Short description|Roman Catholic prelate in England}} {{About|the Catholic archbishop|the Anglican bishop|Bishop of Birmingham}} {{use British English|date=May 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox diocese | archbishopric = Birmingham | border = catholic | image = Bernard Longley Oxford Oratory 1 2010-04-18.jpg | coat = Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham.svg | incumbent = Bernard Longley  | province = Province of Birmingham  | established = Bishopric in 1850 <br />Archbishopric in 1911 | cathedral = St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham | diocese = Archdiocese of Birmingham  }}

The '''Archbishop of Birmingham''' heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham in England.<ref name=dbrmn>{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|dbrmn|Archdiocese of Birmingham|12 August 2011}}</ref> As such he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Birmingham.<ref>[http://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/ Archdiocese of Birmingham website]. Retrieved 10 January 2009.</ref> The archdiocese covers an area of {{convert|8735|km2|sqmi|-2|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/archbishop_information.asp |title=The Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham |publisher=birminghamdiocese.org.uk |access-date=17 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721115050/http://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/archbishop_information.asp |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref> and spans of the counties of Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. The see in the City of Birmingham where the archbishop's seat is located at the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of Saint Chad.

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 Birmingham. This has its origins in the Vicariates Apostolic of England, of the Midland District and lastly of the Central District. The last Vicar Apostolic of the Central District, from 28 July 1848, was Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne, O.S.B., who on 29 September 1850 became the first bishop of Birmingham.<ref name=bulla>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bulla|Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne, O.S.B.|12 August 2011}}</ref>

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 Birmingham.

The current archbishop is The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, who was appointed the ninth archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009 and installed at the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of Saint Chad on 8 December 2009, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and one of the patronal feasts of the archdiocese, St Chad being the other.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pope Benedict XVI announces new Archbishop of Birmingham |url=http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/ccb/catholic_church/media_centre/press_releases/press_releases_2009/pope_benedict_xvi_announces_new_archbishop_of_birmingham |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008002310/http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/ccb/catholic_church/media_centre/press_releases/press_releases_2009/pope_benedict_xvi_announces_new_archbishop_of_birmingham |archive-date=8 October 2009 }}</ref>

== List of bishops and archbishops == {{for|precursor offices|Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District}}

=== Bishop of Birmingham === {| class="wikitable" style="width:95%"; border="1" ! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;"|Bishops of Birmingham |-align=center ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="9%"|From ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="9%"|Until ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="32%"|Incumbent ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="45%"|Notes |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| 1850 |align="center"| 1888 | '''William Bernard Ullathorne''', O.S.B. | Previously Vicar Apostolic of the Central District (1848–1850). Appointed Bishop of Birmingham on 29 September 1850. Resigned on 27 April 1888 and appointed Titular Archbishop of ''Cabasa''. Died on 21 March 1889.<ref name="bulla"/> |-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2" |align="center"| 1888 |align="center"| ''1911'' | '''Edward Ilsley''' | Formerly an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham (1879–1888). Appointed Bishop of Birmingham on 17 February 1888. Elevated from bishop to archbishop of Birmingham on 27 November 1911.<ref name=bill>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bill|Archbishop Edward Illsley|12 August 2011}}</ref> |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |colspan="4"|''In 1911, the diocese was elevated to a metropolitan archdiocese.'' |}

=== Archbishop of Birmingham === {| class="wikitable" style="width:95%"; border="1" ! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;"|Archbishop of Birmingham |-align=center ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="9%"|From ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="9%"|Until ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="32%"|Incumbent ! style="background-color:#D4B1BB" width="45%"|Notes |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| ''1911'' |align="center"| 1921 | '''Edward Ilsley''' | Elevated from bishop to archbishop of Birmingham on 27 November 1911. Retired on 13 June 1921 and appointed Titular Archbishop of ''Macra''. Died on 1 December 1926.<ref name="bill"/> |-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2" |align="center"| 1921 |align="center"| 1928 | '''John McIntyre''' | Previously an Official of the Roman Curia and Titular Archbishop of ''Oxyrynchus'' (1917–1921). Appointed Archbishop of Birmingham on 16 June 1921 and installed on 5 July 1921. Resigned on 17 November 1928 and appointed Titular Archbishop of Odessus. Died on 21 November 1935.<ref name=bmcin>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bmcin|Archbishop John McIntyre|12 August 2011}}</ref> |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| 1929 |align="center"| 1946 | '''Thomas Leighton Williams''' | Appointed archbishop on 25 July 1929 and consecrated on 25 July 1929. Died in office on 1 April 1946.<ref name=bwilltl>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bwilltl|Archbishop Thomas Leighton Williams|12 August 2011}}</ref> |-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2" |align="center"| 1947 |align="center"| 1953 | '''Joseph Masterson''' | Appointed archbishop on 8 February 1947 and consecrated on 19 March 1947. Died in office on 30 November 1953.<ref name=bmast>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bmast|Archbishop Joseph Masterson|12 August 2011}}</ref> |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| 1954 |align="center"| 1965 | '''Francis Joseph Grimshaw''' | Previously Bishop of Plymouth (1947–1954). Appointed Archbishop of Birmingham on 11 May 1954. Died in office on 22 March 1965.<ref name=bgrims>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bgrims|Archbishop Francis Joseph Grimshaw|12 August 2011}}</ref> |-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2" |align="center"| 1965 |align="center"| 1981 | '''George Dwyer''' | Previously Bishop of Leeds (1957–1965). Appointed Archbishop of Birmingham on 5 October 1965. Retired on 1 September 1981 and died on 17 September 1987.<ref name=bdwyerg>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bdwyerg|Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer|12 August 2011}}</ref> |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| 1982 |align="center"| 1999 | '''Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville''' | Appointed archbishop on 22 January 1982 and consecrated on 25 March 1982. Resigned on 12 June 1999 and died on 3 November 2007.<ref name=bcouve>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bcouve|Archbishop Maurice Noël Léon Couve de Murville|12 August 2011}}</ref> |-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2" |align="center"| 2000 |align="center"| 2009 | '''Vincent Gerard Nichols''' | Previously an auxiliary bishop of Westminster (1991–2000). Appointed Archbishop of Birmingham on 15 February 2000. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster on 21 May 2009.<ref name=bnichols>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bnichols|Archbishop Vincent Gerard Nichols|12 August 2011}}</ref> |- valign=top bgcolor="white" |align="center"| 2009 |align="center"| present | '''Bernard Longley''' | Previously an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster (2003–2009). Appointed Archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009 and installed on 8 December 2009.<ref name=blongley>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|blongley|Archbishop Bernard Longley|12 August 2011}}</ref> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archbishop of Birmingham}} * Birmingham Category:Lists of English people Category:Archdiocese of Birmingham