Roman Catholic Diocese of Galloway
The Diocese of Galloway is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The pre-Reformation Diocese of Galloway, founded by Ninian in the fifth century, had broken allegiance with Rome in 1560, and disappeared in 1689 in the Church of Scotland but continued in the Episcopal Church of Scotland.
The modern Roman Catholic diocese incorporates the local authority areas of Dumfries and Galloway, South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and parts of North Ayrshire,. The bishop's cathedra is at St Margaret's Cathedral, Ayr.
The diocese was re-established by the Catholic Church on 4 March 1878, with its cathedral in Dumfries and its territory covering the sparse and rural counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtownshire and parts of Ayrshire. Following the reorganisation of the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1947, parishes to the north of Galloway were transferred to it from Glasgow, creating a significant population centre for the first time around the town of Ayr. In response to this development Bishop McGee moved his residence from Dumfries to Ayr, and following a catastrophic fire at St Andrew's Cathedral in May 1962, it was decided that the Good Shepherd Church, Ayr should also become the diocesan cathedral. The third and present cathedral, following the closure of Good Shepherd Cathedral in May 2007, is St Margaret's Cathedral in Ayr.
The eighth bishop of the diocese was William Nolan, since 2022 the Archbishop of Glasgow.
Bishops
Past and present ordinaries
The following is a list of the modern Bishops of Galloway- John McLachlan
- William Turner
- James William McCarthy
- William Henry Mellon
- Joseph Michael McGee
- Maurice Taylor
- John Cunningham
- William Nolan
- Francis Dougan,.
Coadjutor Bishop
Parishes
The following is a list of current and former churches within the Diocese of Galloway:Ayr, St Margaret's CathedralAyr, St Paul's, BelmontAyr, Good Shepherd Cathedral, Whitletts Annan, Saint ColumbaArdrossan, Saint Peter-in-Chains Auchinleck, Our Lady & St Patrick- Beith, Our Lady of Perpetual SuccourCastle Douglas, Saint John the Evangelist Catrine, Saint Joseph Cumnock, Saint John the EvangelistDalbeattie, Saint Peter Dalry, Saint PalladiusDarvel, Our Lady of the Valley Drongan, Saint Clare Dumfries, Saint Andrew Dumfries, Saint TeresaGalston, Saint Sophia Gatehouse of Fleet, Church of the Resurrection Girvan, The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and MaryHurlford, Saint PaulIrvine, Saint John OgilvieIrvine, Saint Margaret of Scotland Irvine, Saint MaryKilbirnie, Saint BrigidKilmarnock, Saint JosephKilmarnock, Saint MatthewKilmarnock, Saint Michael Kilmarnock, Our Lady of Mount CarmelKilwinning, Saint WininKirkconnel, Saint Conal Kirkcudbright, Saint Andrew and Saint CuthbertLangholm, Saint Francis of Assisi Largs, Saint Mary, Star of the SeaLockerbie, Holy TrinityMaybole, Our Lady and St CuthbertMillport, Isle of Cumbrae, Our Lady of Perpetual SuccourMoffat, Saint LukeMossblown, Saint AnnMuirkirk, Saint Thomas, ApostleNew Abbey, Saint Mary Newton Stewart, Our Lady and Saint NinianPrestwick, Saint QuivoxSaltcoats, Saint Brendan Saltcoats, Our Lady, Star of the SeaStevenston, Saint JohnStewarton, Our Lady and Saint John Stranraer, Saint JosephTroon, Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Meddan Waterside, Saint Francis XavierWest Kilbride, Saint BrideWhithorn, Saint Martin and Saint Ninian Wigtown, The Sacred Heart