Great Britain has 29 territorial Latin Catholic dioceses, counting archdioceses: 21 in England and Wales and eight in Scotland. This is the sum of the two bishops’ conferences’ published counts, checked in September 2026.
Why older totals differ
The current England-and-Wales directory lists Cardiff-Menevia as one archdiocese. A list that still counts Cardiff and Menevia separately will give a different total. Use the current bishops’ conference directory when checking the names rather than adding figures from different dates.
Why this directory has more jurisdiction labels
Our dioceses directory also groups churches belonging to the Personal Ordinariate and the Syro-Malabar and Ukrainian eparchies. These appear alongside territorial Latin dioceses to help visitors find the churches they want. Counting every label in a directory is therefore a different question from counting territorial Latin dioceses.
The Forces jurisdiction is another distinct category. The bishops’ conference lists it separately from its territorial dioceses. A jurisdiction may have no public worship location listed on this site; that does not mean the jurisdiction does not exist.
Great Britain is not the whole United Kingdom
The figure of 29 covers England, Wales and Scotland. It is not a UK-wide total: Northern Ireland must also be considered. The Irish bishops’ conference directory covers the island of Ireland and is the appropriate starting point for those dioceses. Do not add all of its dioceses to the British count to answer a UK question.
To find somewhere to attend Mass, use the church directory or town Mass-times pages. Jurisdiction names help organise the directory; the church’s address and official timetable are what you need for a visit.