Diocese of Westminster Celebrates 175 Years of the Restoration of Catholic Hierarchy in England

Why isn't London? Because in 1850, there was such anti-Catholicism in England that in 1851, it was made a criminal offence for anyone outside the established CofE to use any episcopal title "of any city, town or place ... in the United Kingdom" 

From Aleteia

By Christine Rousselle

The Diocese of Westminster was established on September 29, 1850, as part of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales.

The Diocese of Westminster recently celebrated its 175th anniversary on September 29, marking nearly two centuries of the restoration of Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales.

"Monday, 29th September, is an important birthday," said Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, in a letter that was read at Masses in the diocese over the weekend.

Archbishop Nicholas Wiseman, the first archbishop of Westminster, was appointed to the role by Pope Pius IX on September 29, 1850, said Cardinal Nichols, and Wiseman was elevated to the College of Cardinals the following day. Wiseman would lead the archdiocese until his death in 1865, noted the cardinal.

"So today and tomorrow we may rightly celebrate the Catholic life of this great Diocese, in the spirit of the words of St. Paul we have just heard: 'Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called'(1 Timothy 6:12)," he said.

The restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales came as the result of a papal bull called "Universalis Ecclesiae."

In the papal bull, Pope Pius IX restored 13 Catholic dioceses in England and Wales, but gave them new names as the former dioceses were being used by the Church of England.

"This re-established in these lands a succession of bishops appointed by Rome," Nichols explained.

"Today, we gladly thank God for the great gifts of ministry of the Archbishops who have served this Diocese."

Nichols suggested that the people of the diocese center their celebrations of the Diocese of Westminster on "two dimensions," both of which are "centered on the grace of God and the immensity of God's goodness to us, His people."

A place in public life

When the diocese was first established in the 19th century, said Nichols, "Catholic life was slowly emerging from centuries of opposition and suppression."

"Only gradually did we regain a recognised place in public and political life," he said.

Now, "circumstances, economic conditions, and provisions of public services such as education and health have changed beyond recognition," said Nichols, noting "the violence of wars and international conflicts has taken its heavy toll."

Despite these challenges and changes, however, the Diocese of Westminster "has survived and been fruitful."

"Parish life has been established, giving stability in neighbourhoods, schools have been founded and give witness to our faith, failures and problems have been faced, and we have played our part in public life and communal effort. There are so many ways in which we can be proud of those who have gone before us and handed on to us this great inheritance," he said.

Now, he said, "our duty is to hand it on to the next generations, better tuned to contemporary circumstances, responding to today's challenges and strengthened as ever by the bounteous grace of God."

"For the enduring resilience and responsiveness of so many in our past, and of so many today, we give great thanks to our loving God and Father," said Nichols.

Now from many lands

The second dimension of this celebration is the "wonderful Catholics who have come from many different countries" who now call the Diocese of Westminster home and "enliven and deepen the life of the Church in our Diocese."

"Our parish congregations have a variety of colours and customs that reflect the streets of our cities today. What binds us together, of course, is not our taste in food, nor in music, nor in pathways of piety or devotion. Rather, it is what lies at the heart of our faith: our intimate and shared love for Jesus, the Christ. He is the one who, in His life, death, and resurrection, gives joy to our days, forgiveness for our darkness, and hope for eternal life when our pilgrimage here is done," he said.

This "gift of faith," said Nichols, "finds a home in the people of every land."

"Together we stand before our Blessed Lord, welcoming one another, being formed into one body in Him, a visible demonstration of the universality of the Church which our forebears could never have imagined," he said.

Pictured: Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood (Westminster Cathedral), seat of the Archbishop of Westminster