In 1850 Pope Pius IX announced the restoration of the English and Welsh hierarchy in the Apostolic Letter Universalis Ecclesiae.  He created thirteen new dioceses including the Diocese of Beverley and Dr John Briggs became its first Bishop.  In 1878 the Diocese of Beverley was divided into the Diocese of Leeds and the Diocese of Middlesbrough.  Bishop Robert Corthwaite, the then Bishop of Beverley, became the first Bishop of Leeds.