Archdiocese of Westminster

About

The Archdiocese of Westminster (Latin: Archdioecesis Vestmonasteriensis) is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Although a metropolitan archdiocese governed by an archbishop, it is usually referred to as the Diocese of Westminster. The archdiocese covers the historic counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex.

The diocese is led by the Archbishop of Westminster, who serves as pastor of Westminster Cathedral, as well as the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Westminster. Since the re-establishment of the English Catholic dioceses in 1850, each archbishop of Westminster—including the most recent, Cardinal Vincent Nichols—has been created a cardinal by the pope in consistory, often as the only cardinal in England, and is now the 43rd of English cardinals since the 12th century. It is also customary for the metropolitan archbishop of Westminster to be selected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales providing a degree of a formal direction for the other English bishops and archbishops. Though not formally a primate, he has special privileges conferred by the papal bull Si qua est. The metropolitan archbishop of Westminster has not been granted the title of Primate of England and Wales, which is sometimes applied to him, but his position has been described as that of "chief metropolitan" of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and as "similar to" that of the archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England (as the metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury). The diocese is one of the smallest dioceses in England and Wales in geographical area, but the largest in terms of Catholic population and priests.