Bishop Stephen Wright; Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle Diocese.
Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite centred on St Mary’s Cathedral in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. The diocese is one of the six suffragan sees in the ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool and covers the historic boundaries of County Durham and Northumberland.
The Diocese of Hexham was revived in 1850 by decree of Pope Pius IX, restoring the Catholic hierarchy to England and Wales. Although the ancient See of Hexham was founded in 678 it had later lapsed. Together with the See of Lindisfarne, founded by Saint Aidan, Hexham formed the main part of the Northumbrian kingdom’s ecclesiastical structure. Among the early bishops elected to the see in 684 was Saint Cuthbert, the present-day patron of the modern diocese and, later, Acca of Hexham.
The modern diocese was expanded to include the title of Newcastle in 1861. Originally under the metropolitan See of Westminster, the diocese became part of the new Province of Liverpool (often referred to as the Northern Province) in 1911.
On the restoration of the diocese in 1850, Pius IX appointed Bishop William Hogarth, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, to be the first bishop of the diocese. The Parish Church of Saint Mary, Newcastle upon Tyne, designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, was selected as the seat for the new bishop, gaining cathedral status.
In 1924, Pope Pius XI withdrew the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland to incorporate them into a newly created Diocese of Lancaster. For this reason, the Lancaster diocese still considers St Cuthbert as one of its principal patrons. Other territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Liverpool to form the new see.
The modern Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle comprises the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham. In this respect, it comprises three cities: Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham and Sunderland.
The diocesan curia and chancery are officially based at Bishop’s House, 26 West Avenue, Gosforth, in the north of Newcastle. However, the tribunal and other commissions are actually based at the curial offices at St Vincent’s in St Cuthbert’s House, West Road.
The diocese was also home to the regional seminary for the north of England, Ushaw College, near Durham. The seminary had strong links with the University of Durham which validated the degree courses offered there. The seminary was governed by the bishops of the Northern Province under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Liverpool. However, as the local ordinary, the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle always held the position of Vice-Chairman of Governors.
The diocesan patrons are Our Blessed Lady Immaculate (8 December) and Saint Cuthbert, Bishop and Confessor (20 March).
The See of Hexham and Newcastle is held by the Right Reverend Stephen Wright who succeeded Robert Byrne, C.O. There are presently 114 diocesan priests [ 48 retired priests] and 44 permanent deacons serving 133 parishes. A number of religious orders are also present in the diocese, including the Pallottines, the Carmelites, the Passionist, the Poor Clares and the Sisters of Mercy.
In 2005 Bishop Dunn reorganized the structure of the diocese and curia. He introduced five episcopal areas. These areas are arranged geographically and are known as Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside, Sunderland and East Durham, South Tyneside, Gateshead and Northwest Durham, and Cleveland and South Durham.