Roman Catholic

There are two styles of address for members of the Roman Catholic Church: formal and social. In most circumstances the social form of address is used - that is a polite but slightly less deferential style of approach than the very rigid form that was followed in the last century. The formal styles of address may be found in the published edition of Debrett's Correct Form.

The Roman Catholic Church is the world's largest Christian church, representing over half the Christians in the world.

The spiritual leader and head of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope, who governs from the Vatican City in Rome, a sovereign nation of which he is head of state. Each pope is elected for life by the College of Cardinals.

In England, the senior Roman Catholic prelate ?is the Archibishop of Westminster.

England and Wales is divided into five Metropolitan Archdioceses: Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Southwark and Westminster.

The five Metropolitan Archdioceses of the Catholic Church of England and Wales have a total of 17 suffragan dioceses each overseen by a Bishop. These are:

Westminister: Brentwood, East Anglia, Northampton, Nottingham
Southwark: Arundel and Brighton, Plymouth, Portsmouth
Birmingham: Clifton, Shrewsbury
Liverpool: Hallam, Hexham and Newcastle, Lancaster, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Salford
Cardiff: Menevia, Wrexham

In Scotland there are two Metropolitan Archdioceses with a total of 6 suffragan dioceses:

St Andrews and Edinburgh: Aberdeen, Argyll and The Isles, Dunkeld, Galloway
Glasgow: Motherwell, Paisley

Ordained clergy form a three-part hierarchy of bishops, priests and deacons. Only priests and bishops may celebrate the Eucharist and administer the sacraments of Penance and Anointing the Sick. Married men may become deacons, but only celibate men are ordained as priests and bishops.

The territorial designation and the term 'My Lord' are not officially recognised within the United Kingdom, and accordingly are not used in official communications and documents. ?In such communications Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots and Priors are addressed by name and not by their Province, Diocese, etc.