The first bishop of the new diocese of Southwark was the Right Rev. Thomas Grant, D.D., vice-rector of the English College, Rome, who was consecrated on the 6th July 1851.
On 28th May 1965, Bishop Cyril Cowderoy was appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of the new Archdiocese and Ecclesiastical Province of Southwark, which consists of the Dioceses of Southwark, Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth and Plymouth.
Today, Southwark is led by Archbishop John Wilson, who was appointed as the Eleventh Bishop of Southwark and Fifth Archbishop of Metropolitan and See on the 25th July 2019.
Bishops of Southwark
|
Nicholas Wiseman |
Acted as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Southwark from 29th September 1850 to 4th July 1851. |
1850-1851 |
| Thomas Grant |
Consecrated as first Bishop of the Diocese of Southwark on 4th July 1851. Died in office on 1st June 1870 in Rome. |
1851-1870 |
| James Danell |
Ordained Bishop of Southwark on 25th March 1871. Died in office on 14th June 1881 in Southwark. |
1871-1881 |
| Robert Coffin |
Ordained Bishop of Southwark on 11th June 1882. Died in office on 6th April 1885 in Teignmouth. |
1882-1885 |
|
John Butt |
Ordained titular Bishop of Milo and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 29th January 1885. Installed as Bishop of Southwark on 26th June 1885. Resigned in April 1897 and was appointed titular Bishop of Sebastopolis in Thracia. Died on 1st November 1899. |
1882-1897 |
| Francis Bourne |
Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Southwark and titular Bishop of Epiphania on 27th March 1896. Ordained as Bishop of Southwark on 9th April 1897. Appointed Archbishop of Westminster on 11th September 1903. |
1897-1903 |
| Peter Amigo |
Ordained Bishop of Southwark on 25th March 1904. In 1938, in recognition of his golden jubilee, Pope Pius XI conferred on him the personal title of Archbishop. Died in office on 1st October 1949 at Southwark. |
1904-1949 |
| Cyril Cowderoy |
Ordained Bishop of Southwark on 21st December 1949. |
1949-1965 |
|
Archbishops of Southwark
|
|
|
| Cyril Cowderoy |
Appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of the new Archdiocese and Province of Southwark on 28th May 1965. Died in office on 10th October 1976. |
1965-1976 |
| Michael Bowen |
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton 1971–1977. Appointed Archbishop of Southwark on 28th March 1977. Resigned on 6th November 2003. Died 17th October 2019 at Vauxhall, London. |
1977-2003 |
| Kevin McDonald |
Ordained Bishop of Northampton in 2001. Ordained Archbishop of Southwark on 8th December 2003. Resigned on 4th December 2009 and retired to Southwark. |
2003-2009 |
| Peter Smith |
Ordained Bishop of East Anglia in 1995 and Archbishop of Cardiff in 2001. Installed as Archbishop of Southwark on 10th June 2010. Served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton from October 2014 to May 2015. Retired on 10th June 2019 and died on the 6th March 2020. |
2010-2019 |
| John Wilson |
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and titular Bishop of Lindisfarne by Pope Francis on 24th November 2015 and ordained on 25th January 2016 by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. Appointed Archbishop of Southwark by Pope Francis on 10th June 2019. His Installation took place on 25th July 2019. |
2019-present |
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Auxiliary Bishops of Southwark
|
|
|
|
William Brown |
Ordained titular Bishop of Pella and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 12th May 1924. Died on 16th December 1951. |
1924-1951 |
|
Charles Henderson |
Ordained titular Bishop of Trecalae and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 8th December 1972. Responsible for the South East Pastoral area. Retired January 2001 and died on 10th April 2006 at Blackheath. |
1972-2001 |
|
John Jukes |
Ordained titular Bishop of Strathernia and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 30th January 1980. Responsible for the Kent Pastoral area. Retired December 1998 and died on 21st November 2011 at Huntly. |
1980-1998 |
|
John Howard Tripp |
Ordained titular Bishop of Neoportus and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 30th January 1980. Responsible for the South West Pastoral area. Retired in January 2004 to Wimbledon, London. |
1980-2004 |
|
John Hine |
Ordained titular Bishop of Beverlacum and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 27th February 2001. Responsible for the Kent Pastoral area. Served as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Southwark from December 2009 until 10th June 2010. Retired December 2013 (resignation officially accepted in May 2016). |
2001-2013 |
|
Patrick Lynch |
Ordained titular Bishop of Castrum and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 14th February 2006. Responsible for the South East Pastoral area. Retired December 2020. |
2006-2020 |
|
Paul Hendricks |
Ordained titular Bishop of Rossmarkaeum and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 14th February 2006. Bishop Hendricks was responsible for the South West Pastoral area from 2006 to 2022. In 2022, he moved from the South West Pastoral area and took over responsibility for the Kent Pastoral area. |
2006-present |
|
Paul Mason |
Appointed Episcopal Vicar for Kent in 2014. Ordained titular Bishop of Skálholt and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 31st May 2016. Translated to Bishop in Ordinary to HM Forces on 9th July 2018. |
2014-2018 |
|
Philip Moger |
Ordained titular Bishop of Glastonbury and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on Tuesday 21st February 2023. |
2023-present |
Episcopal Vicars
|
Matthew Dickens |
Mgr Matthew Dickens, the Chancellor and Vicar General, oversaw the Kent area from 2018 until 2020. |
2018-2020 |
|
John O’Toole |
Appointed Episcopal Vicar for Kent in 2020 and served in this role until April 2022. |
2020-2022 |
|
Victor Darlington |
Appointed Episcopal Vicar for the South East Pastoral area on 8th April 2022. He began this role in September 2022. |
2022-present |
| Gerard Bradley
|
Fr Bradley began his role as Episcopal Vicar for the South West in September 2022. |
2022-present |
