The Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of Motherwell 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 Diocese of Motherwell

Diocese of Motherwell

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell is an ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland.The diocese, which was erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow, is led by the Bishop of Motherwell currently the Right Reverend Joseph Devine.In 2004 the Catholic population,...

 in the Province of Glasgow.

The diocese covers an area of 1,178 km². The see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 is in the town of Motherwell where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid

Motherwell Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Our Lady of Good Aid, popularly known as Motherwell Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the seat of the Bishop of Motherwell, and mother church of the Diocese of Motherwell....

. The Diocese of Motherwell comprises in the city of Glasgow, the parishes of St Benedict and St Clare, Easterhouse; Baillieston and Craigend & Garthamlock; North Lanarkshire (except the parishes of Kilsyth, Condorrat, Croy and Cumbernauld and the area of Auchinloch), and South Lanarkshire

The diocese, along with the Diocese of Paisley

Diocese of Paisley

The Diocese of Paisley is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Erected on 25 May 1947 from the Archdiocese of Glasgow the diocese covers the historic county of Renfrewshire and is in area making it the smallest diocese by area in Scotland...

, was erected as a Suffragan See by the Apostolic Constitution Maxime interest on 25 May 1947. The new See took part of the Archdiocese of Glasgow

Archdiocese of Glasgow

The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annandale, Nithsdale, Cunninghame, Kyle, and Strathgryfe, as well as Lennox Carrick...

 (becoming its Suffragan See) and part of the Diocese of Galloway

Diocese of Galloway

The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral....

. The current bishop is the Right Reverend Joseph Devine

Joseph Devine

Joseph Devine is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Motherwell in Scotland.He was educated at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, St. Mary's College, and St. Peter's College, Cardross. He was ordained priest on 29 June 1960 at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome. He received his Ph.D...

, the fourth Bishop of Motherwell.

List of the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell, Scotland

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
7 February 1948 to 9 February 1954	Edward Wilson Douglas Edward Wilson Douglas Edward Wilson Douglas was a Scottish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the first Bishop of Motherwell from 1948 to 1954.Born in Glasgow, Scotland on 21 August 1901, he was ordained to the priesthood on 1 May 1924. He was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Motherwell by the Holy See on 7...	Priest; ordained 21 April 1948; resigned
23 May 1955 to 29 January 1964	James Donald Scanlan James Donald Scanlan James Donald Scanlan was a Roman Catholic prelate who served firstly as the Bishop of Dunkeld, then Bishop of Motherwell, and ultimately Archbishop of Glasgow....	Bishop of Dunkeld; appointed Archbishop of Glasgow
8 December 1964 to 14 December 1982	Francis Alexander Spalding Warden Thomson Francis Thomson (bishop) Francis Alexander Spalding Warden Thomson was a Scottish Roman Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Motherwell from 1964 to 1982.Born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 15 May 1917, he was ordained to the priesthood on 15 June 1946...	Priest; ordained 24 February 1965; resigned
13 May 1983 to present	Joseph Devine Joseph Devine Joseph Devine is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Motherwell in Scotland.He was educated at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, St. Mary's College, and St. Peter's College, Cardross. He was ordained priest on 29 June 1960 at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome. He received his Ph.D...	Auxiliary Bishop of Glasgow