| Archbishopric: | Liverpool |
| Border: | catholic |
| Incumbent: | Malcolm McMahon |
| Province: | Province of Liverpool |
| Established: | Bishopric in 1850 Archbishopric in 1911 |
| Cathedral: | Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool |
| Archdiocese: | Archdiocese of Liverpool |
| Website: | Archbishop of Liverpool |
The Archbishop of Liverpool is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and metropolitan of the Province of Liverpool (also known as the Northern Province) in England.
The archdiocese covers an area of 1165km2 of the west of the County of Lancashire south of the Ribble, parts of Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and the Isle of Man. The see is in the City of Liverpool, where the archbishop's cathedra or seat is located in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, which was dedicated on 14 May 1967.
The Archbishop's residence is Archbishop's House, Salisbury Road, Liverpool.[1]
The current archbishop is Malcolm McMahon, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 21 March 2014[2] and enthroned at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on 1 May 2014, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, before a congregation of three thousand.
After the Reformation, the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England, Scotland, and Wales was abandoned and became under the authority of prefects and vicars apostolics. In 1688, England and Wales were divided into four apostolic vicariates: the London, Midland, Northern, and Western districts. The Liverpool area came under the Northern District, and it remained until the creation of the Lancashire District in 1840. The Lancashire District consisted of the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire, together with the Isle of Man.[3]
On the restoration of the hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850, thirteen dioceses were established. Most of the Lancashire District was replaced by the dioceses of Liverpool and Salford. The new Diocese of Liverpool comprised the hundreds of West Derby, Leyland, Amounderness and Lonsdale in Lancashire, plus the Isle of Man.[4] In its early period, the diocese was a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Westminster, but it was elevated to the status of a metropolitan archdiocese on 28 October 1911, with the archbishop having jurisdiction over the Province of Liverpool.
| Roman Catholic Bishops of Liverpool | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 1850 | 1856 | George Hilary Brown | Previously Vicar Apostolic of the Lancashire District (1840–1850). Appointed the first bishop of Liverpool on 29 September 1850. Died in office on 25 January 1856. | |
| 1856 | 1872 | Alexander Goss | Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Liverpool and Titular Bishop of Gerrha on 29 July 1853 and consecrated on 25 September 1853. Succeeded Diocesan Bishop of Liverpool on 25 January 1856. Died in office on 3 October 1872. | |
| 1873 | 1894 | Bernard O'Reilly | Appointed bishop on 28 February 1873 and consecrated on 19 March 1873. Died in office on 9 April 1894. | |
| 1894 | 1911 | Thomas Whiteside | Appointed bishop on 12 July 1894 and consecrated on 15 August 1894. Elevated from bishop to archbishop on 28 October 1911. | |
| Source(s):[5] [6] | ||||
| Roman Catholic Archbishops of Liverpool | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 1911 | 1921 | Thomas Whiteside | Elevated from bishop to archbishop on 28 October 1911. Died in office on 28 January 1921. | |
| 1921 | 1928 | Frederick William Keating | Previously Bishop of Northampton (1908–1921). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 13 June 1921. Died in office on 7 February 1928. | |
| 1928 | 1953 | Richard Downey | Appointed archbishop on 3 August 1928 and consecrated on 21 September 1928. Died in office on 16 June 1953. | |
| 1953 | 1956 | William Godfrey | Previously Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain and Chargé d'affaires to the Polish government-in-exile. Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 10 November 1953. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster on 3 December 1956. | |
| 1957 | 1963 | John Carmel Heenan | Previously Bishop of Leeds (1951–1957). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 2 May 1957. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster on 2 September 1963. | |
| 1964 | 1976 | George Andrew Beck | Previously Bishop of Salford (1955–1964). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 29 January 1964. Resigned on 7 February 1976 and died on 13 September 1978. | |
| 1976 | 1996 | Derek John Harford Worlock | Previously Bishop of Portsmouth (1965–1976). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 7 February 1976. Died in office on 6 February 1996. | |
| 1996 | 2013 | Patrick Altham Kelly | Previously Bishop of Salford (1984–1996). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 21 May 1996. Resigned on 27 February 2013. | |
| 2014 | present | Malcolm McMahon | Previously Bishop of Nottingham (2000–2014). Appointed Archbishop of Liverpool on 21 March 2014 and was installed on 1 May 2014. | |
| Source(s): | ||||