The Catholic Church in Wales
The Catholic Church in Wales is divided into three dioceses; the Diocese of Wrexham, the Diocese of Menevia and the Archdiocese of Cardiff. Together they are referred to as the Catholic Provence of Cardiff and have an estimated Catholic population of 208,146.
The Diocese of Wrexham consists of the 6 Counties of North Wales and the district of Montgomery in the County of Powys in Mid-Wales. It has a Catholic population of 37,050.
The Diocese of Menevia covers Swansea, Carmarthen, Llandrindod wells, Haverfordwest and Port Talbot. It has a Catholic population of over 27,096
The Archdiocese of Cardiff has eight deaneries covering Cardiff, the Welsh valleys, Bridgend, Hereford, Newport, North Gwent and Pontypridd. It has a Catholic population of over 144,000.
Catholic schools in Wales
The Catholic Church is one of the oldest providers of education in Wales. Together with the Church in Wales, they are the only providers of denominational education in the country.
There are 81 state-maintained Catholic schools in Wales (all voluntary aided) educating more than 28,000 pupils and employing over 1,600 members of staff.
This includes 68 Catholic primary schools, 14 Catholic secondary schools, and a Catholic sixth form college.
Welsh Catholic schools are some of the most ethnically and religiously diverse in the country, with 38.5% of students coming from ethnic minority backgrounds compared to the Wales average of 15.2%. Just under half of pupils in Welsh Catholic schools are not Catholic.
Catholic schools remain extremely popular with parents of all faiths and none and therefore expand parental choice in education for Welsh families.
Click the links to find out more about Religious Education, Relationship and Sex Education, and Collective Worship in Welsh Catholic schools
Welsh language strategy
As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting the Welsh langugage and Welsh Catholic heritage within the education sector, the CES has created a Welsh language strategy.
St Richard Gwyn
St Richard Gwyn was one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. Born in Montgomeryshire, he was a schoolteacher in Wrexham and is also believed to be one of a handful of Martyrs who was a fluent Welsh speaker. He is the Patron Saint of teachers in Wales
His feast day is 16 October and is an occasion where Catholic schools across Wales celebrate their members of staff.