Roman Catholicism in Great Britain

The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope. While there is no ecclesiastical jurisdiction corresponding to the political union, this article refers to the Catholic Church's geographical representation in the United Kingdom as well as Northern Ireland, ever since the establishment of the U.K.'s predecessor Kingdom of Great Britain by the Union of the Crowns in 1707.

For the Catholic Church in the British Isles before 1707, including during the Protestant Reformation, see:

Starting with Pope Pius V's Papal Bull Regnans in Excelsis in 1570 and lasting until 1766, Popes did not recognise the legitimacy of the English Monarchy and called for its overthrow. Therefore, by the time of the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, Catholics were discriminated against in England and Scotland in significant ways: in all the kingdoms of the British Isles, they were excluded from voting, from sitting in Parliament, and from the learned professions. These discriminatory laws continued after the Acts of Union 1800, which created the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. At that time, Catholic Emancipation was gathering support but was not yet a reality, particularly in Ireland, where the Protestant Ascendancy was still in full force.

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