Our Diocese & Bishop
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is our spiritual home within the wider family of the Catholic Church, linking our parish with countless others in worship, mission, and service. Under the loving guidance of our Bishop, we take our place in the Church’s work of proclaiming the Gospel, caring for the poor, and drawing ever closer to Christ. This page introduces both our Bishop and the Diocese we belong to, helping us feel more closely connected to the Church that supports, teaches, and nurtures us on our journey of faith.
Bishop Stephen Wright
“My grace is enough for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Bishop Stephen James Lawrence Wright is the fifteenth Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. Born in Stafford on 9 October 1970, he first studied law at the University of Leicester and was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1993. In time, he discerned a deeper calling and responded generously to God’s invitation to the priesthood. He began his formation at St Mary’s College, Oscott, and later continued at the Venerable English College in Rome, where he earned a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Ordained to the priesthood on 9 September 2000, Bishop Wright served the Archdiocese of Birmingham for more than twenty years, ministering faithfully in parishes across Staffordshire, Birmingham, and Banbury. In 2020 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham and was consecrated that October at St Chad’s Cathedral. On 14 June 2023, Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, and he was joyfully installed at St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne, on 19 July 2023.
Bishop Stephen brings to his episcopal ministry a thoughtful blend of pastoral sensitivity, legal and theological expertise, and a deep, personal faith. His episcopal motto, “My grace is enough for you,” beautifully expresses his conviction that every vocation and every ministry in the Church is sustained not by our own strength, but by the constant grace of God.
“Those comforting words of Saint Paul have been in my heart and mind as I accept the Lord’s call to serve the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.”
Bishop Stephen Wright
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle
“Rooted in faith, serving the people of the North East.”
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle is a Latin-rite Catholic diocese covering Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham, and parts of northern Cleveland. Its cathedral and episcopal seat are found at St Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, the spiritual heart of our diocese, where faith, history, and community come together in a place of prayer and welcome.
The roots of our diocese reach back to the ancient See of Hexham, founded in 678 AD, a heritage shaped by saints, missionaries, and centuries of faith in the North of England. Following the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy by Pope Pius IX in 1850, the Northern District became the Diocese of Hexham, later renamed Hexham and Newcastle in 1861 to reflect its growing life and presence in the region’s principal city. Today, it stands as one of the six suffragan dioceses of the Province of Liverpool, continuing the mission first entrusted to the Church here more than thirteen centuries ago.
Today, the diocese is home to more than 160,000 Catholics across around 150 parishes. From the rugged hills and quiet villages of Northumberland to the coastal towns and industrial heartlands of Tyne and Wear and Durham, our communities are wonderfully diverse, yet united in one shared faith, one mission, and one family in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle continues to carry out the mission of the Church through its sacramental life, evangelisation, Catholic education, and care for the poor and vulnerable. It stands as a living witness to the Gospel in the North East, a diocese rich in history, inspired by the saints of Northumbria, and strengthened by the faithful who, generation after generation, continue to build up the Church of Christ today.
“Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)