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 6 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 25th July 2019.
Archbishops and Bishops
|
Nicholas Wiseman |
Appointed Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Southwark on 29 September 1850, a position which he held until 4 July 1851. |
1850-1851 |
| Thomas Grant |
Consecrated as first Bishop of the Diocese of Southwark on 4 July 1851. Died in office on 1 June 1870 in Rome. |
1851-1870 |
| James Danell |
Ordained as Bishop of Southwark on the 25 March 1871. Died in office on the 14 June 1881 at Southwark. |
1871-1881 |
| Robert Coffin |
Ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Southwark on 11 June 1882. Died in office on 6 April 1885 in Teignmouth. |
1882-1885 |
|
John Butt |
Ordained titular Bishop of Milo and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 29 January 1885. Installed as Bishop of Southwark on 26 June 1885. Resigned in April 1897 and was appointed titular Bishop of Sebastopolis in Thracia on his retirement. Died on 1 November 1899. |
1882-1897 |
| Francis Bourne |
On 27 March 1896, Bourne was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Southwark and titular Bishop of Epiphania. Ordained as Bishop of Southwark on 9 April 1897. On 11 September 1903, Bourne became Archbishop of Westminster. |
1897-1903 |
| Peter Amigo | Ordained Bishop of Southwark on 25 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 1 October 1949 at Southwark. | 1904-1949 |
| Cyril Cowderoy |
Ordained Bishop of Southwark 21 December 1949. Appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of the new Archdiocese and Province of Southwark on 28 May 1965. Died in office on 10 October 1976. |
1949-1976 |
| Michael Bowen |
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton 1971–1977. Appointed Archbishop of Southwark on 28 March 1977. Resigned on 6 November 2003. Died 17 October 2019 at Vauxhall, London. |
1977-2003 |
| Kevin McDonald |
Ordained Bishop of Northampton in 2001. Ordained Archbishop of Southwark on 8 December 2003. Resigned 4 December 2009 and retired to Southwark, London. |
2003-2009 |
| Peter Smith |
Ordained Bishop of East Anglia in 1995 and became Archbishop of Cardiff in 2001. Installed as Archbishop of Southwark on 10 June 2010. Served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton from October 2014 to May 2015. Retired as Archbishop of Southwark on 10 June 2019. Died on the 6 March 2020. |
2010-2019 |
| John Wilson |
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster and titular Bishop of Lindisfarne by Pope Francis on 24 November 2015 and ordained on 25 January 2016 by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. On 10 June 2019 he was appointed Archbishop of Southwark by Pope Francis. His Installation took place on 25 July 2019. |
2019-present |
Auxiliary Bishops
|
William Brown |
Ordained titular Bishop of Pella and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 12 May 1924. Died 16 December 1951. |
1924-1951 |
|
Charles Henderson |
Ordained titular Bishop of Trecalae and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 8 December 1972. Responsible for the South East Pastoral area. Retired January 2001. Died 10 April 2006 at Blackheath. |
1972-2001 |
|
John Jukes |
Ordained titular Bishop of Strathernia and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 30 January 1980. Responsible for the Kent Pastoral area. Retired December 1998. Died 21 November 2011 at Huntly. |
1980-1998 |
|
John Howard Tripp |
Ordained titular Bishop of Neoportus and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 30 January 1980. Responsible for the South West Pastoral area. Retired January 2004 to Wimbledon, London. |
1980-2004 |
|
John Hine |
Ordained titular Bishop of Beverlacum and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 27 February 2001. Responsible for the Kent Pastoral area. Served as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Southwark from December 2009 until 10 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 14 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 14 February 2006 by Most Rev. Kevin McDonald. Responsible for the South West Pastoral area. |
2006-present |
|
Paul Mason |
Appointed Episcopal Vicar for Kent in 2014. Ordained titular Bishop of Skálholt and Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark on 31 May 2016. Translated to Bishop in Ordinary to HM Forces on 9 July 2018. |
2014-2018 |
|
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. |
2020 |
