# Diocese of Northampton > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Diocese_of_Northampton > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Diocese_of_Northampton.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Northampton > Source revision: 1319686905 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Diocese of Northampton** (Latin: *Dioecesis Northantoniensis*) is a [Latin Church](/source/Latin_Church) [diocese](/source/Diocese) of the [Catholic church](/source/Catholic_church) in [England](/source/England) and [Wales](/source/Wales) and suffragan of [Westminster](/source/Archdiocese_of_Westminster). Its [see](/source/Episcopal_see) is in [Northampton](/source/Northampton). The [Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury](/source/Northampton_Cathedral) is the mother church of the Diocese. ## Location The diocese now covers the counties of [Bedfordshire](/source/Bedfordshire), [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire) and [Buckinghamshire](/source/Buckinghamshire) under their pre-1974 [historic](/source/Historic_Counties_of_England) boundaries. Until 1976, the counties of [Cambridgeshire](/source/Cambridgeshire), [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk) and [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk) were also included; since then they have formed the [Diocese of East Anglia](/source/Diocese_of_East_Anglia). ## History When [Augustine of Canterbury](/source/Augustine_of_Canterbury) came from [Rome](/source/Rome) in 597 he concentrated on the areas of [Kent](/source/Kent) and [Essex](/source/Essex), but thirty years later the area that the Northampton Diocese covers finally received the [Christian](/source/Christianity) message, with the arrival of the missionary [Birinus](/source/Birinus) and the foundation of his see at [Dorchester-on-Thames](/source/Dorchester-on-Thames) in 636. Nevertheless, the real evangelisation of the people who dwelt in the diocese was achieved through the labours and missionaries of the isle of [Lindisfarne](/source/Lindisfarne), off the Northumbrian coast. Notable amongst them was [Chad of Mercia](/source/Chad_of_Mercia), whose see, established at [Lichfield](/source/Lichfield) in 669, included the present diocese of Northampton. From the time of the [Reformation](/source/English_Reformation) until 1850, Catholic dioceses ceased to exist in [Britain](/source/Great_Britain). However, in 1688 England was divided into four [Apostolic vicariates](/source/Apostolic_vicariate), with Northampton under the authority of the [Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District](/source/Vicar_Apostolic_of_the_Midland_District). In 1840, the Apostolic Vicariate of the Eastern District was created out of the Midland District. On the [restoration of the Catholic hierarchy](/source/Universalis_Ecclesiae) in [England and Wales](/source/England_and_Wales) by [Pope Pius IX](/source/Pope_Pius_IX) on 29 September 1850, most of the Eastern District became the Diocese of Northampton. Its first bishop was [William Wareing](/source/William_Wareing), previously [Vicar Apostolic](/source/Vicar_Apostolic) of the Eastern District. On 13 March 1976, by decree *Quod Ecumenicum*, [Pope Paul VI](/source/Pope_Paul_VI) formed the [Diocese of East Anglia](/source/Diocese_of_East_Anglia) for the counties of [Cambridgeshire](/source/Cambridgeshire), [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk) and [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk) by detaching these counties from the Diocese of Northampton. ## Diocesan coat of arms The motto under the shield translates as 'Beneath Thy Protection'. On the shield are [lilies](/source/Lilies) and [choughs](/source/Choughs), which are symbols of the two patrons of the diocese, and of the cathedral, [Blessed Virgin Mary](/source/Blessed_Virgin_Mary_(Roman_Catholic)) and [Thomas of Canterbury](/source/Thomas_of_Canterbury). ## Bishops Bishop [Patrick Leo McCartie](/source/Patrick_Leo_McCartie) was a bishop emeritus of Northampton, having retired on 29 March 2001 after serving the diocese for 11 years. He was succeeded by bishop [Kevin John Patrick McDonald](/source/Kevin_John_Patrick_McDonald), who went on to be appointed Archbishop of [Southwark](/source/Archdiocese_of_Southwark) on 6 November 2003. Bishop McCartie died on 22 April 2020. The next [Bishop of Northampton](/source/Bishop_of_Northampton) was [Peter John Haworth Doyle](/source/Peter_John_Haworth_Doyle), born on 3 May 1944 at Wilpshire, near [Blackburn](/source/Blackburn) in [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire). He retired on 8 January 2020, with [David James Oakley](/source/David_Oakley_(bishop)) being appointed at that time as successor. ### Ordinaries Main article: [Bishop of Northampton](/source/Bishop_of_Northampton) - [William Wareing](/source/William_Wareing) (appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern District on 5 June 1840, elevated Bishop of Northampton on 29 September 1850 – resigned on 21 December 1858) - [Francis Kerril Amherst](/source/Francis_Kerril_Amherst) (appointed on 14 May 1858 – resigned 16 October 1879) - [Arthur George Riddell](/source/Arthur_George_Riddell) (appointed on 27 April 1880 – died in office on 15 September 1907) - [Frederick William Keating](/source/Frederick_William_Keating) (appointed on 5 February 1908 – translated to the [Archdiocese of Liverpool](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Liverpool) on 13 June 1921) - [Dudley Charles Cary-Elwes](/source/Dudley_Charles_Cary-Elwes) (appointed on 21 November 1921 – died in office on 1 May 1932) - [Laurence William Youens](/source/Laurence_William_Youens) (appointed on 16 June 1933 – died in office on 14 November 1939) - [Thomas Leo Parker](/source/Thomas_Leo_Parker) (appointed on 14 December 1940 – retired 17 January 1967) - [Charles Alexander Grant](/source/Charles_Alexander_Grant) (appointed on 14 March 1967 – retired 16 February 1982) - [Francis Gerard Thomas](/source/Francis_Gerard_Thomas) (appointed on 27 August 1982 – died in office on 25 December 1988) - [Patrick Leo McCartie](/source/Patrick_Leo_McCartie) (appointed on 20 February 1990 – retired 29 March 2001) - [Kevin John Patrick McDonald](/source/Kevin_McDonald_(archbishop)) (appointed on 29 March 2001 – translated to the [Archdiocese of Southwark](/source/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Southwark) on 6 November 2003) - [Peter John Haworth Doyle](/source/Peter_John_Haworth_Doyle) (appointed on 24 May 2005 – retired on 8 January 2020) - [David James Oakley](/source/David_James_Oakley) (appointed on 8 January 2020 – present) ### Auxiliary bishops - [Alan Charles Clark](/source/Alan_Charles_Clark) (1969-1976), appointed Bishop of East Anglia - [Charles Alexander Grant](/source/Charles_Alexander_Grant) (1961-1967), appointed Bishop of Northampton ### Other priest of this diocese who became bishop - [Joseph Edward Rudderham](/source/Joseph_Edward_Rudderham), appointed Bishop of Clifton in 1949 ## Statistics The estimated Catholic population of the diocese in 2004 was 173,539 while the total population in the diocesan territory was 2,000,769. The diocese covers a territory of 5,532 km² and has 68 parishes. ## Secondary Schools Catholic secondary schools located within the diocese include:[1] - [St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School](/source/St_Bernard's_Catholic_Grammar_School), Slough - [St Michael's Catholic School, High Wycombe](/source/St_Michael's_Catholic_School,_High_Wycombe) - [St Thomas More Catholic School, Bedford](/source/St_Thomas_More_Catholic_School,_Bedford) - [Thomas Becket Catholic School](/source/Thomas_Becket_Catholic_School), Northampton - [Thornton College](/source/Thornton,_Buckinghamshire#Thornton_College), near Buckingham ## Pilgrimage The Northampton Diocese makes up part of the [Catholic Association Pilgrimage](/source/Catholic_Association_Pilgrimage). ## Shrines The Diocese of Northampton has two official shrines. In 2006, [Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Great Billing](/source/Our_Lady_of_Perpetual_Succour_Church,_Great_Billing) was made a diocesan shrine. On 29 September 2012, [Bishop Peter Doyle](/source/Bishop_Peter_Doyle) made the Church of the Holy Child and St Joseph in [Bedford](/source/Bedford) a [shrine](/source/Shrine) to [Our Lady of Guadalupe](/source/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe), after a receiving the image from the [Archbishop of Westminster](/source/Archbishop_of_Westminster) [Vincent Nichols](/source/Vincent_Nichols).[2] ## See also - [Catholic Church in England and Wales](/source/Catholic_Church_in_England_and_Wales) - [List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom](/source/List_of_Catholic_churches_in_the_United_Kingdom) ## References 1. Northampton, Catholic Diocese of. ["School website links"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170325053217/http://www.northamptondiocese.org/LINKS/Schoolwebsites/tabid/105/Default.aspx). *www.northamptondiocese.org*. Archived from [the original](http://www.northamptondiocese.org/LINKS/Schoolwebsites/tabid/105/Default.aspx) on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017. 1. [Shrines](https://northamptondiocese.org/shrines/) from **Diocese of Northampton**, retrieved 18 May 2022 ## External links - [Diocese of Northampton](http://www.northamptondiocese.org) - [Northampton Cathedral](http://www.northamptoncathedral.org/) - [Diocese of Northampton in www.catholic-hierarchy.org](http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dnort.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Diocese of Northampton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Northampton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocese_of_Northampton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.