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THE DIOCESE OF LEEDS
The Diocese of Leeds comprises the whole of West Yorkshire (with the exception of the parish of Todmorden) together with parts of the East Riding, North Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Altogether there are 83 parishes with 110 churches and a combined Catholic population of 158,000. There are 180 priests in the diocese, of whom 53 are living in retirement, and in addition there are 25 Permanent Deacons. A total of 24 religious orders are represented in the diocese at the present time, 17 female orders and seven of male religious. The Patronal Feasts of the Diocese of Leeds are those of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour on 27th June and St Wilfrid, on 12th October.

MUSIC IN THE DIOCESE OF LEEDS
The Diocese of Leeds has the largest church music programme in the United Kingdom. In total it maintains 58 choirs comprising over 2500 children meeting weekly. There are 43 school choirs, four boys’ choirs, four girls’ choirs, three mixed children’s choirs, two youth choirs, a groundbreaking new choir school and a semi-professional adult choir. There are two main elements to the system: auditioned choirs for boys and girls and the Diocesan Schools Singing Programme.

These two areas of work are complementary and the musical and educational rewards flow into the schools and the liturgical life of the Diocese. Members of our choirs are recruited from the Schools Singing Programme. The primary focus of the choirs is liturgical repertoire, however this is not exclusive. There are currently three geographical centres for the singing programme in West Yorkshire: the city of Leeds, associated with the Cathedral; Huddersfield and the Kirklees area, associated with St Patrick’s Church; and Bradford and Keighley, the base for Bradford Catholic Youth Choir. Other areas of activity include Dewsbury, Halifax and Harrogate.