Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh
| Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis |
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 Coat of Arms of the Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh |
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| Location | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Territory | City of Edinburgh and the council areas of Clackmannanshire, part of Fife, Falkirk, West, Mid and East Lothian, and the Scottish Borders |
| Ecclesiastical province | St Andrews and Edinburgh |
| Metropolitan | St Andrews and Edinburgh |
| Coordinates | |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,504 km2 (2,125 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 1,434,347 112,978 (7.9%) |
| Parishes | 106 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 4 March 1878 |
| Cathedral | St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh |
| Secular priests | 99 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Vacant |
| Emeritus Bishops | Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien |
| Website | |
| www.archdiocese-edinburgh.com | |
The Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh (Latin Archidioecesis Sancti Andreae et Edimburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It is the Metropolitan see of the Province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, consisting of the additional suffragan sees of Aberdeen, Argyll and the Isles, Dunkeld, and Galloway. Archbishop Philip Tartaglia governs the archdiocese temporarily in the name of the Pope as the Apostolic Administrator (February 27 2013) until the appointment of a new archbishop. Bishop Stephen Robson, titular bishop of Tunnuna, is the delegate of the Apostolic Administrator.
Contents |
History
After the Scottish Reformation, the Catholic Church abandoned the ancient dioceses and hierarchy. In 1653, the whole of Scotland became under the authority the Prefecture Apostolic of Scotland, which in 1694 was elevated to the Vicariate Apostolic of Scotland.[1]
On 23 July 1727, Scotland was divided into two Vicariates Apostolic, the Lowland District and Highland District. The Lowland District comprised roughly the Scottish Lowlands, with the exception of the northern area around Aberdeen.[1]
On 13 February 1827, Scotland was divided into three Vicariate Apostolics, the Eastern District (formerly the Lowland District), the Northern District (formerly the Highland District), and the Western District (created from terrority of the other two districts).[1]
The Eastern District comprised the sixteen eastern historic counties of Perthshire, Angus, Kincardineshire, Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire, Kinross, Fife, West Lothian, Mid Lothian, East Lothian, Peebleshire, Selkirkshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfrieshire, Roxburghshire, and Berwickshire.
Following the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy by Pope Leo XIII on 15 March 1878, part of the Eastern District was elevated to the status of an Archdiocese with the title St Andrews and Edinburgh.[1]
Office holders
- Prefecture Apostolic of Scotland.[1]
- William Ballantine (nominated 13 October 1653 – died 2 September 1661)
- Alexander Dunbar Winchester (nominated 12 June 1662, resigned 1668, reappointed 1672, resigned again in July 1693)
- Vicariate Apostolic of Scotland.[1]
- Thomas Joseph Nicolson (appointed 7 September 1694 – died 12 October 1718)
- James Gordon (succeeded 12 October 1718 – appointed the Vicar Apostolic of Lowland District on 23 July 1727)
- Vicariate Apostolic of the Lowland District.[1]
- James Gordon (nominated 23 July 1727– died 18 February 1746)
- Alexander Smith (succeeded 18 February 1746 – died 21 August 1767)
- James Grant (succeeded 21 August 1767 – died 3 December 1778)
- George Hay (succeeded 3 December 1778 – retired 24 August 1805)
- Alexander Cameron (succeeded 24 August 1805 – retired 20 August 1825)
- Alexander Paterson (nominated 20 August 1825 – appointed vicar apostolic of the Eastern District 13 February 1827)
- Vicariate Apostolic of the Eastern District.[1]
- Alexander Paterson (nominated 13 February 1827 – died 30 October 1831)
- Andrew Carruthers (nominated 28 September 1832 – died 24 May 1852)
- James Gillis (succeeded 24 May 1852 – died 24 February 1864)
- John Menzies Strain (nominated 2 September 1864 – appointed Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh 15 March 1878)
- Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh.[1]
- John Menzies Strain (translated to St Andrews and Edinburgh 15 March 1878 – died 2 July 1883)
- William Smith (nominated 2 October 1885 – consecrated 28 October 1885 - died 16 March 1892)
- Angus MacDonald (translated to St Andrews and Edinburgh 15 July 1892 – died 29 April 1900)
- James August Smith (translated to St Andrews and Edinburgh 30 August 1900 – died 25 November 1928)
- Andrew Thomas McDonald, O.S.B. (nominated 19 July 1929 – consecrated 24 September 1929 - died 22 May 1950)
- Gordon Joseph Gray (nominated 20 June 1951- consecrated 21 September 1951- created Cardinal Priest 28 April 1969 – retired 30 May 1985 - died Edinburgh 19 July 1993)
- Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien (nominated 30 May 1985 – resignation accepted nunc pro tunc 13 November 2012 and definitively accepted by Pope Benedict XVI [2] 25 February 2013)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Archdiocese of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh at Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved on 30 September 2010.
- ^ "Cardinal Keith O’Brien resigns, will not go to conclave". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 25 February 2013.