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Diocese of Wrexham Dioecesis Gurecsamiensis Esgobaeth Wrecsam
Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows
Location
Country	Wales
Territory	North Wales
Ecclesiastical province	Cardiff
Deaneries	6
Statistics
Area	8,361 km (3,228 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2017) 742,600 33,897 (4.6%)
Parishes	41
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	12 February 1987
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows
Secular priests	38
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Peter Brignall
Metropolitan Archbishop	Mark O'Toole
Vicar General	Terence Carr
Bishops emeritus	Edwin Regan
Map
Show within Wales and Herefordshire Show within England and Wales
Website
Official website

The Diocese of Wrexham (Latin: Dioecesis Gurecsamiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Cardiff.

History

The diocese was erected on 12 February 1987 from the Diocese of Menevia. Before 1916 this territory was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. The current bishop is The Right Reverend Peter Brignall, the 3rd Bishop of Wrexham. On 27 June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed the then Monsignor Brignall, who was at that time the Diocese of Wrexham's Vicar General, to succeed the retiring bishop, Edwin Regan. Bishop Peter's episcopal ordination took place on 12 September 2012 in Wrexham Cathedral.

Timeline

• 29 September 1850: Universalis Ecclesiae: The Roman Catholic Church in Wales is split between the Diocese of Shrewsbury in the north and the Diocese of Newport and Menevia in the south.
• 4 September 1860: Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire, the cathedral priory of the Diocese of Newport and Menevia, is consecrated.
• 4 July 1895: The Diocese of Newport and Menevia splits. Glamorgan, Monmouth and Herefordshire become the Diocese of Newport. The rest of Wales, including North Wales from the Diocese of Shrewsbury, becomes the Apostolic Vicariate of Wales.
• 12 May 1898: The Apostolic Vicariate of Wales become the Diocese of Menevia with Wrexham Cathedral as its pro-cathedral.
• 7 February 1916: The Diocese of Newport becomes the Archdiocese of Cardiff and it is decided that St. David's Church in Cardiff would become its cathedral.
• 12 March 1920: St David's Cathedral in Cardiff is officially made the metropolitan cathedral of the Archdiocese of Cardiff.
• 12 February 1987: The Diocese of Menevia is split. The north becomes the Diocese of Wrexham with its cathedral remaining in Wrexham. The south remains the Diocese of Menevia and sets up Swansea Cathedral.

Details

The diocese covers an area of 8,361 km² of the ancient counties of Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire (the local government areas of Conwy, Anglesey, Denbighshire and Flintshire, Gwynedd, Wrexham and the former Montgomeryshire).

The see is in the city of Wrexham where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Bishops

(Any dates appearing in italics indicate de facto continuation of office. The start date of tenure below is the date of appointment or succession. Where known, the date of installation and ordination as bishop are listed in the notes together with the post held prior to appointment.)

Deaneries

There are a total of six deaneries in the Diocese of Wrexham, all of which cover several churches in that area, overseen by a dean.

The deaneries include:

• Caernarfon Deanery
• Colwyn Bay Deanery
• Dolgellau Deanery
• Flint Deanery
• Rhyl Deanery
• Wrexham Deanery

See also

• Lists of office-holders
• St Winefride's Well
• St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre

References

1. Historic England, "Details from listed building database (1411804)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 5 April 2014
2. ^ History from Cardiff Cathedral retrieved 5 April 2014

External links

• Official website
• GCatholic.org

v t e Diocese of Wrexham
Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham
Bishops of Wrexham I: James Hannigan II: Edwin Regan III: Peter Brignall
Churches Wrexham Cathedral – Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, Amlwch Our Lady and St James, Bangor St Tudwal, Barmouth St Joseph, Colwyn Bay Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Dolgellau St Mary, Holyhead St Winefride, Holywell St David, Pantasaph Our Lady of the Assumption, Rhyl
Patronal Feast of the Diocese Saint David (1 March)
Schools St Richard Gwyn High School, Flint Christ the Word School, Rhyl St Joseph's High School, Wrexham
Deaneries Caernarfon Deanery Colwyn Bay Deanery Dolgellau Deanery Flint Deanery Rhyl Deanery Wrexham Deanery
See also St Winefride's Well St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre
Catholicism portal Wales portal

v t e Catholic dioceses in England and Wales
Province of Birmingham	Archdiocese of Birmingham Diocese of Clifton Diocese of Shrewsbury
Province of Cardiff	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia Diocese of Wrexham
Province of Liverpool	Archdiocese of Liverpool Diocese of Hallam Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle Diocese of Lancaster Diocese of Leeds Diocese of Middlesbrough Diocese of Salford
Province of Southwark	Archdiocese of Southwark Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Diocese of Plymouth Diocese of Portsmouth
Province of Westminster	Diocese of Westminster Diocese of Brentwood Diocese of East Anglia Diocese of Northampton Diocese of Nottingham
Other Latin jurisdictions	Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Eastern Catholic jurisdictions	Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Great Britain
Catholicism portal

52°55′N 3°34′W / 52.92°N 3.57°W / 52.92; -3.57

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham
• Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Cardiff