# Roman Catholic 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 12,831 km$^2$ (4,954 sq mi) and consists of the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The see is in the City of Plymouth where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface.
The diocese of Plymouth was one of the dioceses erected on 29 September 1850 from the Vicariate Apostolic of the Western District. The Right Reverend Mark O'Toole, the 9th Bishop of Plymouth, was appointed on 9 November 2013 by Pope Francis. In June 2022 he was translated to both the Archbishopric of Cardiff and the Bishopric of Menevia; since then the see has been vacant.
In December 2023, Pope Francis appointed Canon Christopher Whitehead of the Diocese of Clifton to become the 10th Bishop of Plymouth. Bishop-Elect Christopher was to be installed on 22 February 2024. On 1 February, the Bishops of England and Wales announced that his ordination was cancelled, pending a canonical process investigating Canon Whitehead, who stepped down from active ministry during the investigation. Whitehead was subsequently cleared of all charges, and returned to ministry in Clifton. In September 2024, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Philip Moger, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Southwark, to become the 10th Bishop of Plymouth, to be installed on 9 November 2024. On November 6, however, Moger issued an apology stating he intended to postpone his installation until termination of the investigation of personal issued raised. Finally, on 24 February, 2025, Bishop Moger announced via the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales that the pope had accepted his resignation from the appointment to the see of Plymouth, as the resolution of ‘concerns of a personal nature’ had ‘taken longer than anticipated’.

## List of bishops

Roman Catholic Bishops of Plymouth :
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1851 | 1855 | George Errington | Appointed bishop on 27 June 1851, consecrated on 25 July 1851, and installed on 7 August 1851. Translated to Westminster as Coadjutor Archbishop on 30 March 1855. |
| 1855 | 1902 | William Vaughan | Appointed bishop on 10 July 1855 and consecrated on 16 September 1855. Died in office on 24 October 1902. |
| 1902 | 1911 | Charles Maurice Graham | Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Plymouth on 25 September 1891 and consecrated on 28 October 1891. Succeeded Bishop of Plymouth on 25 October 1902. Retired on 16 March 1911 and appointed Titular Bishop of Tiberias. Died on 2 September 1912. |
| 1911 | 1928 | John Joseph Keily | Appointed bishop on 21 April 1911 and consecrated on 13 June 1911. Died in office on 23 September 1928. |
| 1929 | 1946 | John Patrick Barrett | Formerly an auxiliary bishop of Birmingham (1926–1929). Appointed Bishop of Plymouth on 7 June 1929. Died in office on 2 November 1946. |
| 1947 | 1954 | Francis Joseph Grimshaw | Appointed bishop on 2 June 1947 and consecrated on 25 July 1947. Translated to the archbishopric of Birmingham on 11 May 1954. |
| 1955 | 1985 | Cyril Edward Restieaux | Appointed bishop on 9 April 1955 and consecrated on 14 June 1955. Retired on 19 November 1985 and died on 27 February 1996. |
| 1986 | 2013 | Hugh Christopher Budd | Appointed bishop on 19 November 1985 and consecrated on 15 January 1986. Retired on 9 November 2013 and died on 1 April 2023. |
| 2014 | 2022 | Mark O'Toole | Appointed bishop on 9 November 2013 and consecrated on 28 January 2014 Translated to both the Archbishopric of Cardiff and Bishopric of Menevia on 20 and 22 June 2022 respectively. |
| 2023 | 2024 | Christopher John Whitehead | On 15 December 2023 Pope Francis appointed Canon Christopher Whitehead as the tenth bishop of Plymouth. His episcopal ordination and installation was to take place on 22 February 2024, however, on the 1 February 2024 it was announced that the bishop-elect had stood down from public ministry. |