St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne

St Mary's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the mother-church of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The Cathedral was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and built between 1842 and 1844. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and a fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture championed by Pugin.

History as a Cathedral

By decree of Pope Pius IX on 29 September 1850, the Catholic hierarchy was restored on a regular pattern to England and Wales. Much of what had been known as the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District became the new See of Hexham.

Bishop William Hogarth was appointed to be the first bishop of the new diocese, and as such, required a church in which to place his seat or cathedra. St Mary's was chosen for this purpose and thus it gained the status of a cathedral church in 1850.

The name of the see was changed in 1861 to Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Since then, eleven further bishops have been installed in St Mary's as Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle.

The Cathedral today

The seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle is vacant after the death of the Right Reverend Kevin Dunn in March 2008. He served in the post for almost four years, having been ordained and installed on the feast of St Bede the Venerable, May 25 2004.

On April 21 2006 the incumbent Dean, the Reverend Michael Campion, officially left his appointment at the cathedral. He is succeeded by the Reverend Peter Leighton, formerly the Catholic Chaplain to the University of Durham.

ee also

*Bishop Ambrose Griffiths - Eleventh Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle
*Bishop Hugh Lindsay - Tenth Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle
*Basil Cardinal Hume - Archbishop of Westminster 1976-1999

External links

* [http://www.stmaryscathedral.org.uk/ Official Cathedral Website]
* [http://www.rcdhn.org.uk/ Official Diocesan Website]