Diocese of Portsmouth

Established in May 1882.

• Map of Parishes
• Map of Pastoral Areas
• Bournemouth Pastoral Area detail

Updates to the Portsmouth Directory are available from the Portsmouth Diocesan website.

The celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Portsmouth was a significant and moving occasion for worship, both in St John's Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral.

The Diocese of Portsmouth consists of the Counties of Hampshire, Berkshire except Slough, Isle of Wight, with part of East Dorset and South Oxfordshire and the Channel Islands, some of Britain's most beautiful places.

The Bishop of Portsmouth, The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, was instrumental in establishing the Pastoral Plan for the Diocese.

In the 2008 Diocesan Year Book The Bishop was quoted as saying :
We have now lived with the new Pastoral Areas for nearly three years and I am delighted at the progress that has been made. More and more parishes and worshipping communities are recognizing and coming to terms with the interdependence which has to be at the heart of all collaborative ministry and evangelizations.

The Sacred Heart Church
The Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Bournemouth plays an all-important part in the Diocese of Portsmouth.

The Seventh Bishop of Portsmouth,
Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, MA STL

Born in Bristol 17 November 1936. Ordained Priest on 11 July 1965. Ordained as Bishop of Cincari and Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham on 5 May 1987. Appointed to Portsmouth on 6th December 1988 and subsequently installed on 27 January 1989.

The Anniversary year continues and with it, I detect a growing sense of optimism and confidence as we strive more and more to be faithful to the call of the Lord to go out and bear fruit.
...not fruit for ourselves but fruit for the Kingdom. My prayer is that we will continue to build on the firm foundations, set out in the Pastoral Plan, which gave shape to the hopes and aspirations of so many.

The Right Reverend Crispian Hollis, 2008