Present Ecclesiastical Organization.—At the present day the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain is ruled by 26 archbishops and bishops, who are divided thus: England and Wales, three archbishops, of whom one is a cardinal, 13 suffragans and three auxiliary bishops; Scotland, two archbishops, one arch bishop coadjutor and four suffragan bishops; Ireland, four archbishops (one a cardinal), 23 bishops and one bishop auxiliary. The titles of the English sees were expressly chosen to be different from those of the Established Church, though the latter have since adopted three of the Roman Catholic titles — Liverpool, Birmingham and Southwark. Each diocese has a chapter, though there are no resident canons; they are chosen from among the senior clergy of the diocese and meet at stated intervals. There have been four archbishops of West minster — Cardinal Wiseman (1850-65) ; Cardi nal Manning (1865-92) ; Cardinal Vaughan (1892-1903) ; and Cardinal Bourne since 1903. The new cathedral at Westminster was begun under the direction of Cardinal Vaughan in 0395. It is in the early Christian Byzantine style, the architect being the late Mr. J. F. Bentley, who died during its construction in 1902. The number of priests in England and Wales in 1915 was 3,985, with 1,879 churches, chapels and establishments; Scotland, 583 priests and 428 churches, chapels, etc.; the num ber of priests in Ireland was given as 3,750. Roman Catholics in England and Wales are estimated at 1,900,000; Scotland, about 545,000, and Ireland, according to the 1911 census, 3,242,670.
Since the abrogation of the penal laws more than a century ago, mission churches have rap idly multiplied throughout the country, and few towns of any importance are now without one. Some have been built by individual rich Catho lics, and are good specimens of architecture: for example, the church at Arundel, built by the Duke of Norfolk in 1873, or that at Cam bridge, built by Mrs. Lyne Stephens in 1890; and a certain number of handsome churches have been built by subscription, a prominent instance being the Oratory at Brompton, opened in 1884. Moreover, the influence of the elder Pugin, who was a Roman Catholic, is largely visible in the churches set up during the early days of the Gothic revival. Never theless, the large majority of Catholic churches bear evidence of the poverty of that community as a whole, and have been built with the sole view of securing a maximum amount of ac commodation at a minimum of cost.
In their practical working the missions do not differ much from parishes, though they are not canonically constituted as such. The clergy, being unmarried, live together in a house or ((Presbytery.° They are supported entirely by voluntary contributions. For the most part they lead laborious lives, ministering to the wants of their people, most of whom belong to the poorest classes. There is also a large section of the clergy known as °Regti lars,° including Jesuits, Benedictines, Domin icans, Franciscans, as well as the modern Re demptorists, Passionists, and other similar con gregations. They commonly live in monas
teries or large houses; but in the present state of England they often find themselves obliged to undertake the care of missionary churches, like the secular clergy.
The From what has been said, it will be seen that the Roman Catholic laity be long to three very heterogeneous groups: (1) The hereditary English Catholic, consisting of a number of county families, and in some few districts, such as Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire, and elsewhere, some of the working classes; (2) converts, or children of converts, of whom there are usually a certain number in most town missions; and (3) those who are Irish, or partly Irish, by descent, who form the majority of the congregations, many of them be longing to the poorer classes of the population. The prejudices of former times are steadily dy ing away, and Roman Catholics in general live on good terms with their neighbors. They intermarry to a certain extent, but such mixed as they are called, are discouraged by the ecclesiastical authorities and a special permission is requisite for each. Many Roman Catholics may now be found occupying promi nent positions on county councils, boards guardians, or other public bodies. In politics, owing to the composite nature of the body, they are divided, almost every shade of political opinion being represented amongst them; but in general it may be said that while the ma jority, including almost all the Irish, sympathize with the Liberal party, many of the upper class hereditary Catholics have in recent years become strong Conservatives. When Catholic interests are at stake, however, those of all political views unite on a common platform.
Very remarkable energy and perserverance has been shown in providing ele mentary schools for Catholic children, and there is one attached to almost every mission. In spite of past difficulty and poverty, they have usually been carried on very efficiently. Train ing colleges for the supply of Catholic teachers, both male and female, exist in various parts of the country. There are numerous poor law, reformatory and industrial schools. In the pro vision of secondary day schools Catholics are less well off, though there are a certain number of efficient ones m some of the chief towns; but the boarding schools for the upper classes are on a very large scale in proportion to their numbers. The chief ones— Stonyhurst, Ushaw, Beaumont, Downside, Ampleforth, Old Hall, and others, are all equipped fully up to the standard of modern requirements. Some of them are descended from the English colleges on the Continent which were broken up during the French Revolution; others, as for example Cardinal Newman's school at the Birmingham Oratory, have been founded in more recent times.