Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Dioecesis Arundeliensis-Brich-telmestunensis
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton
Location
Country	England
Territory	Counties of East Sussex and West Sussex and the County of Surrey outside the Greater London Boroughs.
Ecclesiastical province	Southwark
Metropolitan	Southwark
Deaneries	13
Coordinates	51°51′22″N 0°33′32″W / 51.856°N 0.559°W / 51.856; -0.559Coordinates: 51°51′22″N 0°33′32″W / 51.856°N 0.559°W / 51.856; -0.559
Statistics
Area	4,998 km2 (1,930 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 3,014,000 111,500 (3.7%)
Parishes	115
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	28 May 1965
Cathedral	Arundel Cathedral
Secular priests	170
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Kieran Conry
Metropolitan Archbishop	Peter Smith
Vicars General	John Hull Benedict O'Shea
Map
The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton within the Province of Southwark.
Website
dabnet.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton (in Latin: Dioecesis Arundeliensis-Brichtelmestunensis) is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in southern England covering the counties of Sussex and Surrey. The diocese was established on 28 May 1965, having previously been a part of the larger Archdiocese of Southwark.

Bishops

There have been four bishops of this diocese. The first was Bishop David Cashman who was consecrated on 14 June 1965. He died in March 1971 and was succeeded by Bishop Michael George Bowen, who was translated in April 1977 to head the Archdiocese of Southwark. He was succeeded by Bishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor who, in March 2000, became the 10th Archbishop of Westminster. Archbishop Murphy-O'Connor was made a Cardinal on 21 February 2001 in Rome.

His successor, and the current occupant of the office (as of 2011), is Bishop Kieran Conry, who was ordained and installed as the leader of the diocese on June 9, 2001.

Metropolitan Province

The diocese comprises part of the Metropolitan Province of Southwark, which is currently presided over by the Most Reverend Peter Smith, by virtue of his office of Archbishop of Southwark. The diocese itself covers the administrative counties of West and East Sussex, Surrey outside of the Greater London Boroughs, and the unitary authority of Brighton & Hove. It is one of 22 Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales.

Geographical area

Situated in the South East of England the Diocese encompasses a large number of villages and smaller towns, as well as highly populated parts of Surrey, central Sussex and the coastal region running from Chichester to the Kent border. There are a number of universities (Sussex, Brighton, Surrey, Royal Holloway College in Egham) as well as technical colleges and Colleges of Higher Education.

The Diocese is divided into thirteen deaneries, which are subdivided into parishes:

• Brighton and Hove: Brighton; Hove; Peacehaven; Rottingdean with Woodingdean; Southwick with Portslade; Universities of Brighton and Sussex
• Cathedral: Arundel; Billingshurst with Pulborough; Bognor Regis with Slindon; Chichester with The Witterings; Midhurst; Petworth; Selsey; Storrington
• Crawley: Crawley; Horsham; East Grinstead with Lingfield and Forest Row; Horley; West Grinstead with Henfield; Worth
• Eastbourne: Eastbourne; Hailsham and Polegate; Eastbourne (Langney), Pevensey Bay and Hampden Park; Newhaven; Seaford
• Epsom: Ashtead; Banstead; Dorking; Effingham; Epsom; Ewell; Fetcham; Leatherhead; Tadworth
• Guildford: Ash with Heath End; Chilworth and Gomshall; Cranleigh with Bramley; Farnham; Godalming; Guildford with Rydes Hill and Merrow; Haslemere; Hindhead and Chiddingfold; Sutton Park; University of Surrey
• Lewes: Burgess Hill; Haywards Heath and Staplefield; Keymer with Hurstpierpoint; Lewes
• Mayfield: Crowborough; Heathfield with Burwash; Mayfield; Uckfield with Herons Ghyll; Wadhurst with Rotherfield
• Redhill: Caterham and Whyteleafe; Oxted and Warlingham; Redhill, Reigate and Merstham
• St Leonards-on-Sea: Battle with Northiam; Bexhill; Hastings; Rye; St Leonards-on-Sea and Hollington
• Weybridge: Addlestone; Chertsey; Cobham; Egham; Esher; Hersham; Molesey; Sunningdale; Thames Ditton; University of London; Walton-on-Thames; Weybridge
• Woking: Camberley and Bagshot; Frimley; Knaphill; West Byfleet; Woking
• Worthing: Adur Valley; East Preston with Angmering; East Worthing; Goring; Littlehampton; Rustington; Worthing

Mass attendance

The Diocese has a weekly Mass attendance of 43,377 persons, which would be approximately one quarter of the total Catholic population. There are 116 parishes with a number of other centres where Mass is celebrated regularly. In April 2005, the Diocese had 182 diocesan and 97 religious priests, as well as 16 permanent deacons. There are a large number of Religious Orders, both men and women, living and working in the Diocese in a number of apostolates. The Diocese has a total of 90 Catholic schools.

Local pilgrimage

The Diocese also founded the Arundel and Brighton Pilgrimage, which now occurs annually during the two weeks running up to the August bank holiday. Though the pilgrimage is largely Roman Catholic, it is in fact ecumenical and there are several Anglican attendants. The first walk took place in 1975 around the Diocese but has since gone on to include cross-country routes through England and Wales, with different themes and stops at various churches and cathedrals.

Anti-abuse policy

In recent times, the sexual abuse scandal in Arundel and Brighton diocese has hurt the public's trust in the work of local diocesan officials.

See also

• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in England and Wales
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Great Britain

External links

• Diocese Official Website
• Giga-Catholic Information
• Diocesan Seminary
• The Catholic Children's Society