is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster. Liturgy in the diocese is primarily based around the
ordinary form of the Roman Rite, promulgated by
Pope Paul VI, now in its third edition. However, as might be expected from a city as cosmopolitan as
London, there is a great diversity in the liturgy as celebrated by Catholics. The
Latin Mass Society celebrates the liturgy according to the
extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. The
Ukrainian Greek Catholics have a strong presence in the diocese with
their own cathedral in Binney Street close to
Bond Street. There is a
Lebanese Maronite community based at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Cirencester Street in West London; a
Melkite community in
Pimlico, at St Barnabas'
Church of England church; an
Ethiopian Catholic church, Our Lady Queen of Heaven, in
Queensway West London; an
Eritrean Catholic Church, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, in East Acton; a
Chaldean Catholic church, St Anne's, in Laxton Place; and a
Belarusian Catholic church in Holden Avenue in North London. There are also a large number of Masses for the expatriate Polish community; as well as dedicated French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish language churches. There are also ethnic chaplaincies serving Catholics from Africa, Albania, Brazil, the Caribbean, China, Croatia, the Philippines, India, Hungary, Ireland, Korea, Latin America, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Czechia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Traveller, Gypsy and Roma communities, and Vietnam. The diocese is also responsible for many institutional chaplaincies, including
Heathrow Airport, hospitals and prisons. See
St. George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport for more information about the Heathrow Airport Latin-Church Catholic chaplaincy. There are a large number of religious communities in the diocese. Religious orders of men include: the
Assumptionists at
Bethnal Green,
Hitchin and Burnt Oak; the
Augustinians at
Hammersmith and
Hoxton; the
Augustinian Recollects at Kensal New Town,
Kensington and
Wembley; the
Benedictines at
Ealing Abbey and
Cockfosters; the
Carmelites at Finchley East;
Discalced Carmelites at Kensington; the
Christian Brothers at
Twickenham; the missionary
Columban Fathers at
Hampstead; the
Dominicans at Haverstock Hill; the
Franciscans at Pimlico; the
Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Westminster; the
Holy Ghost Fathers at New Barnett and
Northwood; and the
Passionists at Highgate. The
Jesuits have a large presence in London with communities in Mayfair (at Farm Street), Southall, Stamford Hill and Swiss Cottage. The
Oratorians are based at the
Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kensington, which is popularly known as the
Brompton Oratory and is the largest church in the diocese after
Westminster Cathedral. Religious communities of women include the Carmelites at
Golders Green and Ware; the
Poor Clares in Barnet; the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories at the cathedral; the Ursulines of Jesus at Hoxton, Kingsland and Stamford Hill; the Dominicans at Bushey, Cricklewood, Ealing,
Edgware, Harpenden, Harrow on the Hill, Haverstock Hill, Hemel Hempstead, Osterley, Stevenage and Pinner. The Institute of the BVM is located in Swiss Cottage, Acton, Osterley, Redbourn and
St Albans. The
Sisters of Mercy are located at the cathedral, Acton East, Bethnal Green, Bow, Clapton Park, Commercial Road, Cricklewood, Feltham, Hampton Hill, Hillingdon, Kensal, Newtown, Marylebone Road, St Albans, St John's Wood, Twickenham and Underwood Road. The Servants of the Mother of God at
Bayswater,
Hampton and
Somers Town. The diocese is involved in both the independent and state school sectors. Some 159 state and 10 independent
primary schools are in the diocese along with 42 state and 4 independent
secondary schools. There are also a further five independent primary / secondary and special schools including the Choristers school attached to the cathedral. Music in the diocese is as diverse as the communities represented in it, but the all-male
cathedral choir is reputedly one of the best in the country and sings at all chief Masses in the cathedral as well as the daily
divine offices. There are several choirs that specialise in
Gregorian Chant and a
Charismatic group centred on the diocesan
seminary at
Allen Hall. ==See also==