The Archbishop of Southwark is the Ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in England. As such he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Southwark.

The archdiocese has an area of and covers the London Borough

London borough

The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...

s south of the Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

, the county of Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 and the Medway

Medway

Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...

 Unitary Authority

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

. The Metropolitan See is in Southwark

Southwark

Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...

 where the archbishop's seat

Cathedra

A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...

 is located at the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint George

St George's Cathedral, Southwark

St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of Southwark, south London.The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Province of Southwark which covers the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth...

.

The see is currently held by the Most Reverend Peter Smith, Ll.B.

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

, J.C.D.

Doctor of Canon Law

Doctor of Canon Law is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.It may also be abbreviated I.C.D. or dr.iur.can. , ICDr., D.C.L., D.Cnl., D.D.C., or D.Can.L. . Doctor of both laws are J.U.D...

, 4th Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark, who was appointed by the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 on 30 April 2010 and installed at St George's Cathedral, Southwark

St George's Cathedral, Southwark

St George's Cathedral, Southwark, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Archdiocese of Southwark, south London.The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Province of Southwark which covers the Archdiocese of Southwark and the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth...

 on 10 June 2010.

History

The Diocese of Southwark was created on 29 September 1850 and originally covered the historic counties

Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...

 of Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, and the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

. It lost territory on the creation of the Diocese of Portsmouth

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The episcopal see is the Portsmouth Cathedral and is headed by the Bishop of Portsmouth...

 on 19 May 1882. The diocese lost further territory on the creation of the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton on 28 May 1965. However, on the same day the diocese of Southwark was elevated to an archdiocese when the Ecclesiastical province

Ecclesiastical Province

An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...

 of Southwark was established. The metropolitan archbishop of Southwark has jurisdiction over the bishops of Arundel & Brighton

Bishop of Arundel and Brighton

The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the Province of Southwark, England.The bishop's official residence is Bishop's House, The Upper Drive, Hove, East Sussex....

, Plymouth

Bishop of Plymouth

The Bishop of Plymouth is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth in the Province of Southwark, England.The diocese covers an area of and consists of the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset...

, and Portsmouth

Bishop of Portsmouth (Catholic)

The Bishop of Portsmouth is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth in the Province of Southwark, England.The bishop's official residence is St...

.

Bishops of Southwark

Roman Catholic Bishops of Southwark
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1851	1870	Thomas Grant	Appointed bishop on 27 June 1851 and consecrated on 6 July 1851. Died in office on 31 May 1870.
1871	1881	James Danell James Danell James Danell was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Southwark from 1871 to 1881....	Appointed bishop on 10 January 1871 and consecrated on 25 March 1871. Died in office on 14 June 1881.
1882	1885	Robert Aston Coffin Robert Aston Coffin Robert Aston Coffin C.SS.R., D.D. was an English Redemptorist and Bishop of Southwark... , C.SS.R. Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is a Roman Catholic missionary Congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.Members of the Congregation, priests and brothers,...	Appointed bishop on 25 May 1882, consecrated on 11 June 1882 and installed on 27 July 1882. Died in office on 6 April 1885.
1885	1897	John Baptist Butt John Baptist Butt Bishop John Baptist Butt was a Roman Catholic bishop in the Archdiocese of Southwark and Titular Bishop of Sebastopolis in Thracia....	Formerly an auxiliary bishop Auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...  of Southwark (1884–1885). Appointed Bishop of Southwark on 26 June 1885. Resigned on 12 April 1897 and appointed Titular Bishop of Sebastopolis in Thracia. Died on 1 November 1899.
1897	1903	Francis Alphonsus Bourne Francis Bourne Francis Alphonsus Bourne was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1903 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1911.-Early life:...	Appointed Coadjutor Bishop Coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...  of Southwark on 27 March 1896 and consecrated on 9 April 1897. Succeeded Bishop of Southwark on 9 April 1897. Translated to the archbishopric of Westminster Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...  on 11 September 1903.
1904	1949	Peter Emmanuel Amigo	Appointed bishop on 12 March 1904 and consecrated on 25 March 1904. Appointed the personal title of archbishop on 18 December 1937. Died on 1 October 1949.
1949	1965	Cyril Conrad Cowderoy Cyril Conrad Cowderoy Archbishop Cyril Conrad Cowderoy was a priest for over 45 years and a bishop for over 26 years in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.Born in Sidcup on 5 May 1905, he was consecrated and ordained as parish priest in Southwark on 30 May 1931 by Cardinal Bernard William Griffin and Bishops Beck...	Appointed bishop on 12 December 1949 and consecrated on 21 December 1949. Elevated from bishop to archbishop of Southwark on 28 May 1965.

Archbishops of Southwark

Roman Catholic Archbishops of Southwark
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1965	1976	Cyril Conrad Cowderoy Cyril Conrad Cowderoy Archbishop Cyril Conrad Cowderoy was a priest for over 45 years and a bishop for over 26 years in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.Born in Sidcup on 5 May 1905, he was consecrated and ordained as parish priest in Southwark on 30 May 1931 by Cardinal Bernard William Griffin and Bishops Beck...	Elevated from bishop to archbishop of Southwark on 28 May 1965. Died on office on 10 October 1976.
1977	2003	Michael George Bowen Michael George Bowen Michael George Bowen is a British prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Southwark from 1977 to 2003, having previously served as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.-Biography:...	Previously Bishop of Arundel and Brighton Bishop of Arundel and Brighton The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the Province of Southwark, England.The bishop's official residence is Bishop's House, The Upper Drive, Hove, East Sussex....  (1971–1977). Appointed Archbishop of Southwark on 28 March 1977. Resigned on 6 November 2003.
2003	2009	Kevin John Patrick McDonald	Previously Bishop of Northampton Bishop of Northampton The Bishop of Northampton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton in the Province of Westminster, England.The see is in the town of Northampton where the bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and Saint Thomas of Canterbury.The current bishop is the Right...  (2001–2003). Appointed Archbishop of Southwark on 6 November 2003 and installed on 8 December 2003. Resigned on 4 December 2009.
2010	present	Peter David Smith, Ll.B. Bachelor of Laws The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree... , J.C.D. Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.It may also be abbreviated I.C.D. or dr.iur.can. , ICDr., D.C.L., D.Cnl., D.D.C., or D.Can.L. . Doctor of both laws are J.U.D...	Previously Archbishop of Cardiff Archbishop of Cardiff The Archbishop of Cardiff is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff.The archdiocese covers an area of and spans the historic counties of Monmouthshire, Herefordshire and eastern Glamorganshire... (2001–2010). Appointed Archbishop of Southwark on 30 April 2010 and installed on 10 June 2010.