ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK

Registered charity 1173050 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE SOUTHWARK, ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK DIOCESAN TRUST

The charity's aims are to establish, maintain, and advance the Roman Catholic religion in the area of the Archdiocese, or in connection with the Archdiocese of Southwark. The practical aims are to support the parochial and diocesan structure of the Catholic Church as set out from time to time in the rules and regulations of the Church, known as the code of Canon Law.

Causes: Religious Activities · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£33.8m
Latest spending
£34.4m
Registered
2017
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the Archdiocese supported 81 retired priests at a cost of £1.5 million in 2024, with financial obligations expected to increase as the number of priests over 65 rises. The organization relies heavily on the generosity of parishioners to fund this Clergy Support Fund, alongside other initiatives such as priest training and social outreach.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Moore Kingston Smith. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Property (HM Land Registry)

632 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (601 freehold); recorded price paid £7.1m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (85,881 followers) · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£33.8m
Total spending
£34.4m
Cost of raising funds
£270k
Reserves (reported)
£3.6m
Employees
348

Reported reserves equal ~1.3 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.8% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Kent · Medway · Throughout London

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£33.8m£34.4m
31/12/2023£29.9m£30.6m
31/12/2022£36.4m£27.5m
31/12/2021£26.4m£26.3m
31/12/2020£23.5m£26.0m

Common questions

Is ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the Archdiocese supported 81 retired priests at a cost of £1.5 million in 2024, with financial obligations expected to increase as the number of priests over 65 rises. The organization relies heavily on the generosity of parishioners to fund this Clergy Support Fund, alongside other initiatives such as priest training and social outreach. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Moore Kingston Smith.

Who funds ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK?

Funders whose own accounts filings name ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK as a grant recipient include THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF SAINT LOUIS CIO.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF SAINT LOUIS CIOFY2024£1kGrants to individuals
THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF SAINT LOUIS CIOFY2025£1kSupport for Education Projects in France (Youth Fund)
THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF SAINT LOUIS CIOFY2023£250The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
UK government01/04/2024£6.5mSchool Condition Allocation - Voluntary Aided Sector Recipients
UK government01/04/2023£7.0mSchool Condition Allocation - Voluntary Aided Sector Recipients
UK government01/04/2022£7.5mSchool Condition Allocation - Voluntary Aided Sector Recipients
UK government01/04/2021£7.8mSchool Condition Allocation - Voluntary Aided Sector Recipients
The National Lottery Heritage Fund22/06/2020£7k"COVID19 Shrine of St Augustine"
UK government01/04/2020£9.5mSchool Condition Allocation - Voluntary Aided Sector Recipients
The National Lottery Heritage Fund21/01/2019£70k"Preserving and sharing a church of the 1960s"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund09/03/2016£250k"Urgent roof renewal and restoration work for 1843 Pugin church, St Peter the Apostle, Woolwich"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund14/06/2013£909k"The Pugin and St Augustine education, research and visitor centre, Ramsgate"
The National Lottery Community Fund15/10/2004£5kStairlift for disabled people
The National Lottery Heritage Fund08/08/2000£145k"Our Ladye, Star of the Sea"

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with LIVERPOOL ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESAN TRUST.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK£33.8m—0unclear—no doubt
LIVERPOOL ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESAN TRUST FY2024£38.7m——below—no doubt
BROTHERS OF THE SACRED HEART FY2025£481k—0above—no doubt
ARCHDIOCESE OF CARDIFF-MENEVIA FY2025£6.0m£70,001 - £80,0003unclear—no doubt
LEEDS DIOCESAN TRUST FY2026£13.3m——above—no doubt
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY'S CHARITABLE FOUNDATION FY2024£202k—0unclear—no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.