What? I thought they were nobles and aristocrats
A very small number certainly were, basically ones who were powerful enough to resist the monarchy during the reformation., as much for political reasons as religious ones. Generally quite an unlikeable and unliked bunch like the Mowbrays and their relatives the Camoys. That crowd kept themselves to themselves, married overseas and are not always well thought of. Some more decent ones exist like the Fitzalan-Howards, plus sometimes their estate workers however as a whole, English RCs are small in number and urban.
You have to remember that in England, Catholic means Anglican. The English Church was Anglican before the RCC came into being during the Great Schism of 1054, remained Catholic afterwards and during the brief period of Rome's domination, only ever had limited loyalty to the Vatican, and that more on a sometimes turbulent political level. The ordinary people cared little for Rome. The English Church then as now has always had its own traditions very distinct from the continent and very English, whereas in an RC church in England you'll see statues of St Patrick, copies of Irish newspapers and the bar in the church basement will serve Guinness.
RCC in England and Wales generally means people whose families came from Ireland to certain cities for work and used to (though not so much nowadays) tend to marry other RCs. Most of the other people in cities and almost everybody in small towns and the countryside either tended to the English Church or were sometimes Protestant, generally Methodist.
worshiping with the help
She meant a maid from Ireland. Like
les bonnes from Normandy for Parisians, many young women came from Ireland to work as maids in London and later returned home to marry.
