The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Catholic Church, the title was restored by Pope Leo XIII in 1878. In the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the Episcopal bishopric of Glasgow and Galloway.
The present Catholic archbishop is William Nolan, who was installed on 26 February 2022.
The Diocese of Glasgow originates in the period of the reign of David I, Prince of the Cumbrians, but the earliest attested bishops come from the 11th century, appointees of the Archbishop of York. The episcopal seat was located at Glasgow Cathedral. In 1492, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Innocent VIII. After the Scottish church broke its links with Rome in 1560, the archbishopric continued under the independent Scottish church until 1689 when Episcopacy in the established Church of Scotland was finally abolished in favour of Presbyterianism, requiring bishopric continuity to occur in the disestablished Scottish Episcopal Church.
In the following centuries Roman Catholicism slowly began a process of re-introduction, culminating in 1829 with legalisation through the Catholic Emancipation Act. A new papally-appointed archbishopric in the Roman Catholic Church was introduced when the Vicariate Apostolic of the Western District was elevated to archdiocese status on 4 March 1878 on the restoration of the Scottish hierarchy, and then to metropolitan archdiocese status on 25 May 1947.
| Tenure (an "x" between two years indicates a range of possible starting or ending dates) | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| fl. 1055 x 1060 | Magswen | Name is a corruption of either Magnus or Mac Suein. Said in York sources to have been consecrated by Cynesige, Archbishop of York. |
| fl. 1055 x 1060–1066 (?) | John Scotus | Said to have been consecrated by Cynesige; probably the John "the Scot" who later became bishop of Mecklenburg. |
| fl. 1109 x 1114 | Michael of Glasgow | |
| 1114 x 1118–1147 | John Capellanus | |
| 1147–1164 | Herbert of Selkirk | |
| 1164–1174 | Enguerrand (Ingelram) | |
| 1174–1199 | Jocelin | |
| 1199 | (Hugh de Roxburgh) | Bishop-elect only, he died less than four months after his election. |
| 1199–1202 | William de Malveisin | Translated to the higher ranking Bishopric of St Andrews in 1202. |
| 1202–1207 | (Florence of Holland) | Was bishop-elect for five years, but apparently never received consecration. |
| 1207–1232 | Walter Capellanus | |
| 1232 x 1233–1258 | William de Bondington | |
| 1259 | (Nicholas de Moffat) | He travelled to the Holy See to receive consecration; but he did not pay the money requested of him, and his travel companions turned against him. He therefore returned to Scotland unconsecrated, and had to give up the see. |
| 1259–1268 | John de Cheam | |
| 1268–1270 | (Nicholas de Moffat) (again) | This time, Nicholas died before consecration. |
| 1270–1271 | (William Wishart) | He was translated to the higher ranking Bishopric of St Andrews before receiving consecration for Glasgow. |
| 1271–1316 | Robert Wishart | |
| el. 1316 x 1317 | (Stephen de Dunnideer) | Travelled to the Holy See to receive consecration, but the Pope rejected his election under pressure from King Edward II of England; he died at Paris on his return home. |
| 1317 | (John de Lindsay) | Elected but rejected by the pope; later successfully appointed in 1323 |
| 1318–1323 | John de Egglescliffe | He was provided and consecrated by Pope John XXII, acting in accordance with King Edward II, after rejecting the election of John de Lindesay. As a pro-English appointee, he never took possession of the see, and was translated to the Bishopric of Connor in March 1323. |
| 1323–1334 x 1336 | John de Lindsay | |
| 1336–1337 | John Wishart | |
| 1338–1367 | William Rae | |
| 1367–1387 | Walter Wardlaw | Created Cardinal by Pope Clement VII of the Avignon Obedience 23 December 1383 |
| 1387–1408 | Matthew de Glendonwyn | In 1391, during the Western Schism, the Roman Pope tried appoint John Framisden to the see, but it was politically unsuccessful. |
| 1408–1425 x 1426 | William de Lauder | |
| 1426–1446 | John Cameron | |
| 1447 | James Bruce | |
| 1447–1454 | William Turnbull | |
| 1455–1473 | Andrew de Durisdeer | |
| 1474–1483 | John Laing | |
| 1483 | (George Carmichael) | He was never consecrated because the Pope, Pope Sixtus IV rejected his election because he had previously reserved the see for himself. |
| 1483-1492/1508 | Robert Blackadder | During Robert's episcopate, the Bishopric of Glasgow was elevated to the status of Archbishopric. Thereafter, Robert and his successors would bear the title "Archbishop" instead of merely "Bishop". |
| align=center colspan="3" | Source(s):[1] |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1483/92-1508 | Robert Blackadder | During Robert's episcopate, the Bishopric of Glasgow was elevated to the status of Archbishopric. Thereafter, Robert and his successors would bear the title "Archbishop" instead of merely "Bishop". |
| 1508–1523 | James Beaton (I.) | |
| 1523–1547 | Gavin Dunbar | |
| 1547–1548 | (James Hamilton) | Crown nomination in 1547, but rejected by papacy in summer 1548 on grounds of illegitimacy. |
| 1548 | (Donald Campbell) | Crown nomination in 1548 to papal nuncio, but nuncio died and nomination dropped. |
| 1550–1551 | Alexander Gordon | |
| 1551–1570 | James Beaton (II.) | James Beaton was the last Archbishop before the Scottish Reformation. Although there continued to be archbishops of the see, they were no longer part of the Roman Catholic Church. |
| align=center colspan="3" | Source(s): |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1571–1572 | (John Porterfield) | |
| 1573–1581 | James Boyd of Trochrig | |
| 1581–1585 | Robert Montgomerie | |
| 1585–1587 | William Erskine | |
| 1585–1587 | Walter Stewart | |
| 1598–1603 | James Beaton | Reinstated to title, style, dignity and benefices of the Archbishopric by King James VI, but "being not of our religion" not to the actual exercise of the office. |
| 1603–1615 | John Spottiswoode | |
| 1615–1632 | James Law | |
| 1632–1638 | Patrick Lindsay | |
| 1638–1661 | See temporally abolished. | |
| 1661–1664 | Andrew Fairfoul | First bishop of the Restoration Episcopate. |
| 1664–1669 | Alexander Burnet | |
| 1671–1674 | Robert Leighton | |
| 1674–1679 | Alexander Burnet (again) | |
| 1679–1684 | Arthur Rose | |
| 1684–1687 | Alexander Cairncross | |
| 1687–1689 | John Paterson | Deprived of the temporalities in 1689 when episcopacy was permanently abolished in the Church of Scotland following the Glorious Revolution. |
| align=center colspan="3" | Source(s): | |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Archdiocese of Glasgow | ||
| 1689–1708 | John Paterson | After the Glorious Revolution, continued as a non-juror until his death. |
| 1708–1724 | See vacant | |
| Diocese of Glasgow | ||
| 1724–1733 | Alexander Duncan | |
| 1733–1805 | See administered by the Bishops of Edinburgh | |
| 1805–1809 | William Abernethy Drummond | Previously Bishop of Edinburgh 1788–1805. |
| 1809–1837 | See administered by the Bishops of Edinburgh | |
| Since 1837, the see is part of the united Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. | ||
| align=center colspan="3" | Source(s):[2] | |
The archdiocese covers an area of 1,165 km2. The Metropolitan See is in the City of Glasgow where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew.
(Any dates appearing in italics indicate de facto continuation of office. The start date of tenure below is the date of appointment or succession. Where known, the date of installation and ordination as bishop are listed in the notes together with the post held prior to appointment.)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vicariate Apostolic of the Western District | ||
| 13 February 1827 to 20 September 1832 | Bishop Ranald MacDonald, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District | Vicar Apostolic of the Highland District; died in office |
| 20 September 1832 to 15 October 1845 | Bishop Andrew Scott, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District | Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the Western District; resigned |
| 15 October 1845 to 15 December 1865 | Bishop John Murdoch, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District | Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the Western District; died in office |
| 15 December 1865 to 4 March 1869 | Bishop John Gray, Vicar Apostolic of the Western District | Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of the Western District; resigned |
| 4 March 1869 to 16 April 1869 | Sede vacante | |
| 16 April 1869 to 15 March 1878 | Archbishop Charles Eyre, Apostolic Administrator of the Western District | Apostolic Delegate for Scotland and Titular Archbishop of Anazarbus; became Archbishop of Glasgow on the restoration of the Scottish Hierarchy in 1878 |
| Archdiocese of Glasgow | ||
| 15 March 1878 to 27 March 1902 | Charles Eyre, Archbishop of Glasgow | Apostolic Administrator of the Western District, died in office |
| 27 March 1902 to 4 August 1902 | Sede vacante | |
| 4 August 1902 to 14 October 1920 | John Maguire, Archbishop of Glasgow | Auxiliary Bishop of Glasgow, died in office |
| 14 October 1920 to 24 February 1922 | Sede vacante | |
| 24 February 1922 to 8 December 1943 | Donald Mackintosh, Archbishop of Glasgow | Priest; ordained 21 May 1922; died in office |
| 8 December 1943 to 6 January 1945 | Sede vacante | |
| 6 January 1945 to 25 May 1947 | Donald Campbell, Archbishop of Glasgow | Bishop of Argyll and the Isles; became Metropolitan Archbishop |
| Metropolitan Archdiocese of Glasgow | ||
| 25 May 1947 to 22 July 1963 | Donald Campbell, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Hitherto Archbishop; died in office |
| 29 January 1964 to 23 April 1974 | James Scanlan, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Bishop of Motherwell; retired |
| 23 April 1974 to 17 June 2001 | Thomas Winning, Cardinal, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Previously Auxiliary Bishop of Glasgow; created Cardinal 26 November 1994; Died in office |
| 22 February 2002 to 24 July 2012 | Mario Conti, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Bishop of Aberdeen from 1977, retired, now deceased. |
| 24 July 2012 to 13 January 2021 | Philip Tartaglia, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Bishop of Paisley; died in office |
| 13 January 2021 to 4 February 2022 | Sede vacante | |
| 4 February 2022 to present | William Nolan, Metropolitan Archbishop of Glasgow | Bishop of Galloway |
| align=center colspan="3" | Source(s): | |