List of ordinaries ;Vicar Apostolic of Lancashire District • 1840–1850:
George Hilary Brown;
see below ;Bishops of Liverpool • 1850–1856:
George Hilary Brown;
see above • 1856–1872:
Alexander Goss • 1873–1894:
Bernard O'Reilly • 1894–1911:
Thomas Whiteside;
see below ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Liverpool • 1911–1921:
Thomas Whiteside;
see above • 1921–1928:
Frederick William Keating • 1928–1953:
Richard Downey • 1953–1956:
William Godfrey, appointed Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal in 1958) • 1957–1963:
John Carmel Heenan, appointed Archbishop of Westminster (Cardinal in 1965) • 1964–1976:
George Andrew Beck AA • 1976–1996:
Derek Worlock • 1996–2013:
Patrick Altham Kelly • 2014–2025:
Malcolm Patrick McMahon OP • 2025–present:
John Sherrington Coadjutor Bishops •
James Sharples (1843–1850), as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic; did not succeed to see; died before the see became a diocese •
Alexander Goss (1853–1856)
Auxiliary Bishops •
Robert Dobson (1922–1942) •
Joseph Gray (1968–1980), appointed Bishop of Shrewsbury •
Joseph Formby Halsall (1945–1958) •
Augustine Harris (1965–1978), appointed Bishop of Middlesbrough •
Anthony Hitchen (1979–1988) •
Vincent Malone (1989–2006) •
Kevin O'Connor (1979–1993) •
John Rawsthorne (1981–1997), appointed Bishop of Hallam •
Thomas Anthony Williams (2003– •
Thomas Neylon (2021–
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops •
John Patrick Barrett, appointed auxiliary bishop of Birmingham in 1926 •
John Bilsborrow, appointed Bishop of Salford in 1892 •
Paul Richard Gallagher, appointed nuncio and titular archbishop in 2004 •
Vincent Gerard Nichols, appointed auxiliary bishop of Westminster in 1991; future Cardinal •
Thomas Edward Flynn, appointed Bishop of Lancaster in 1939 •
William Godfrey, appointed apostolic delegate and titular archbishop in 1938; later returned here as archbishop; future cardinal •
Thomas Holland, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Portsmouth in 1960 •
Richard Preston, appointed auxiliary bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in 1900
William Godfrey William Godfrey (25 September 1889 - 22 January 1963) was a
Catholic bishop, his highest posting was as
Archbishop of Westminster. Born in Liverpool, he was educated at
Ushaw College and at the
Venerable English College, where he was ordained in 1916, during the
First World War. He gained his
Doctorate the following year. He then taught at Ushaw for 12 years:
Classics,
Philosophy and
Theology. In 1930 he was appointed Rector of the College where during the next eight years he watched
Benito Mussolini's rise to power. He was known affectionately to his students despite his strictness as "Uncle Bill." In 1938 he became the first
Apostolic Delegate to
Great Britain,
Gibraltar and
Malta and he served in this post with such discretion that in 1953, long after the war, he became
Archbishop of Liverpool and in 1956 he was appointed as
Archbishop of Westminster. He was created
Cardinal two years later. He died in London on 22 January 1963, aged 73.
Vincent Nichols Vincent Gerard Nichols was born in
Crosby,
Liverpool on 8 November 1945. He entered the
Venerable English College (Rome) in 1963 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1969. His further studies include obtaining the Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the
Pontifical Gregorian University and the degree of Master of Arts from the
University of Manchester, specialising in the theology of John Fisher. After working in the Archdiocese of Liverpool for 14 years, including, latterly, as the Director of the Upholland Northern Institute, Vincent Nichols was appointed General Secretary of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of England & Wales for nine years. In 1992 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as titular bishop of Abora. He served as an auxiliary bishop in the
Archdiocese of Westminster between 1992 and 2000, having special pastoral oversight for North London. During this time he served under
Basil Hume, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He presided over the burial of Cardinal Hume, at the end of his Requiem Mass in 1999. Nichols was appointed the eleventh Archbishop of Westminster by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 April 2009. The archdiocese, the primatial see of the Church in England and Wales, serves 472,600 Catholics. On 22 February 2014, Pope Francis admitted Nichols to the Sacred College of Cardinals at a general consistory.
John Rawsthorne John Rawsthorne (born 12 November 1936) is the previous ordinary of the
Diocese of Hallam in the Province of Liverpool. He had previously been a priest and later auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of Liverpool and the titular bishop of Rotdon. Bishop Rawsthorne succeeded Bishop
Gerald Moverley, the 1st
Bishop of Hallam when Bishop Moverley resigned in July 1996. Rawsthorne was selected as the 2nd Bishop of Hallam on 4 June 1997 and was installed on 3 July 1997. The bishop is a keen walker and takes part in a sponsored walk every year to raise money to support St. Wilfrid's Drop-in Day Centre in
Sheffield. His retirement took place on 20 May 2014, when it was announced by the Vatican that Pope Francis had appointed Ralph Heskett, Bishop of Gibraltar to succeed Rawsthorne as Bishop of Hallam.
Paul Gallagher Paul Richard Gallagher,
Secretary for Relations with States, was born in Liverpool and educated at St. Francis Xavier's College in
Woolton. Ordained by Archbishop
Derek Worlock in 1977, he served in
Fazakerley before becoming a member of the Holy See's diplomatic service. Since 1984 he has held posts in
Tanzania,
Uruguay, the
Philippines, the
Vatican Secretariat of State in Rome and with the
Council of Europe in
Strasbourg. From January 2004 to February 2009 he was
Apostolic Nuncio to
Burundi, then from February 2009 until December 2012 he was Apostolic Nuncio to
Guatemala when he was appointed as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia a post he held until being made Secretary for Relations with States on 8 November 2014 by Pope Francis.
Vincent Malone Vincent Malone was born in Liverpool on 11 September 1931. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Liverpool archdiocese at St Oswald's, Old Swan, Liverpool on 18 September 1955. He was ordained titular bishop of Abora and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool by Archbishop Derek Worlock on 3 July 1989. It was officially announced on 26 October 2006 that Bishop Vincent Malone would be retiring as auxiliary bishop of Liverpool. In common with all Bishops he was required to submit his letter of retirement to
Pope Benedict XVI on reaching the age of 75. He continued to be a vicar general, a member of the archbishop's council and a trustee of the archdiocese. Moreover, although he no longer carried out formal parish visitations, Malone continued to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Vincent Malone died on 18 May 2020, aged 88, at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Augustine Harris Augustine Harris was born in Liverpool and ordained a priest at
Upholland College on 30 May 1942 for the
Archdiocese of Liverpool. He was ordained titular bishop of Socia and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool by Archbishop
George Andrew Beck on 11 February 1966. He translated to the
Diocese of Middlesbrough on 20 November 1978 and retired on 3 November 1992. In retirement he lived in
Formby and latterly at
Ince Blundell Hall, where he died, aged 79. ==See also==